AC Milan's star veteran striker, Olivier Giroud, has many minutes already under his belt and it is time to give him some rest. The Rossoneri coach, Stefano Pioli, already has 2 players in the squad who can play in the centre-forward position.
According to what is reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, four matches in the league, one in the Champions League: the center forward has never changed. If we also add the game that started but ended prematurely due to injury with the French national team, the playing time for the number 9 has already been quite high considering the player's age. Then, the fact that Olivier has consistently maintained a high level of performance is another matter. However, already against Inter and especially against Newcastle, the striker seemed short of breath.
This is is where the alternatives brought in by the management in the market will have to come into play. The question is only one: will they measure up? Only by putting them on the field can we have an answer.
The summer transfer market brought two players who can play as center forwards. One is Noah Okafor, who, by nature, is a left winger and would be more suitable as a deputy for Leao, but can also adapt to the striker role. After a few weeks since the arrival of the Swiss player, who already has good European experience with Salzburg and the national team, it became clear that Pioli could not rely solely on him as the sole alternative to Giroud. After missing out on the main target, Mehdi Taremi, the Rossoneri had to take action and signed Luka Jovic from Fiorentina.
A real gamble: the Serbian player, after his breakthrough at Frankfurt, has always remained an unfulfilled promise. It will be up to him to prove that he deserves to wear the Milan jersey. Meanwhile, both Okafor and Jovic could have their first chance to demonstrate their worth already on Saturday against Verona when Pioli seems inclined to give both Leao and Giroud a rest, as relayed via Milan News.
