Milan on Jonathan David: the negotiation and the other names in the crosshairs

The David of Florence does not devalue: Donatello did it, he is almost 600 years old but he doesn’t miss a goal. Lille’s David, well… a little more. Jonathan David is in a crisis that needs to be called for help: he hasn’t scored in 10 games, he seems to be in trouble and has lost his place as a starter. Worse than that, it’s tough. Paradoxically, Milan can take an advantage from here. He has been following David for years, he tried to sign him in the summer and now he can try again, aiming to get a lower price. Already in January? Why not… Before talking about him (and other candidates), however, it is better to give an overview of the situation.

two strong needs

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Milan has two major technical needs: the center forward and the central defender. He only has Giroud up front, because Jovic currently doesn’t have the level of Milan and Okafor is above all an external attacker. At the back it’s at a minimum: in the last few games, only Thiaw and Tomori have been available. The quality of the squad in several positions was improved in the summer. Dest, Ballo-Touré, Gabbia, Bakayoko, Diaz, Saelemaekers, Vranckx, De Ketelaere, Messias, Origi, Rebic left and none – considering Tonali inevitably a special case – generated regrets. The level with Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Reijnders and Musah has increased – for the others, from Chukwueze on down, we’ll see – but it’s not enough. The challenge for January is to add (or rather, replace) two or three players.

on the bench…

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David by liking is the first name. Historically he is valued at 60 million, a figure that Milan cannot spend in the summer, let alone in January. Yet that price has already dropped, because the contract with Lille will expire in 2025 and the players expiring for Milan – Chukwueze and Pulisic explain – are a priority. A year ago David rivaled Mbappé for goals (first and third in the scoring charts), now he is making an appearance. Not only among the strikers, with two miserable goals against the Parisian’s 13, but also in his Lille, where the bench is no longer a taboo. Indeed, on Sunday in the 1-1 draw with Toulouse, another club owned by RedBird, David played as a starter – after three matches as a reserve – especially thanks to the disqualification of his rival Yazici. But the substance has not changed: zero goals, many errors and a 2 in the Equipe report card, as well as the local newspaper La Voix Du Nord. In short, it’s a terrible crisis, given that a year ago, in these times, the Canadian had 9 goals in 13 championship rounds. Lille coach Paulo Fonseca doesn’t understand: “There are no reasons for such a lack of self-confidence.” And again: “He is very strong. We know that it will be difficult to stay with him in the future.” President Olivier Letang also came to his aid: “We are not hiding, Jonathan is going through a more difficult period but the fifteen days in the national team will do him good”.

adams

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Side note, but writ large. David is certainly not the only winter target. And not the only one in France. Milan also really like Akor Adams, born in 2000, a Nigerian center forward with great physique, great power, a habit of scoring quickly: for the championship alone, 15 goals at Lillestrom (in Norway) between April and July, another 7 now with Montpellier: enough to command the Golden Shoe. Here the transfer in January is very unlikely but the transfer options are endless and the competition is relative. Compared to David, who would become the owner of the future, it would be a bridge solution: an alternative to Giroud in the immediate future, then who knows. And speaking of African attackers, there’s a case for taking a trip to Guinea.

guirassy

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Guinean Serhou Guirassy has already scored 15 goals in the Bundesliga since August, almost all in the first month and a half. He is 27 years old, he has always struggled to reach double figures in the league but in the summer he changed gear. Above all, he has a 17 million clause… and with 17 million today you can’t get another European-level center forward. The opportunity is clear, the difficulties too: Guirassy doesn’t want to force an exit from Stuttgart in January and obviously there isn’t a club in noble Europe that hasn’t written large, in some file, the amount of his clause. If he ever leaves, it won’t be a two- or three-way race. It will be a Grand Prix.