Milan transfer market: eyes on Balogun for the attack

If Giroud’s stay at Milan for another season is practically a done deal, it is equally certain that next summer there will be a new centre-forward alongside him, in the heart of the area. Because the appointment with the investment to give Pioli new goals can no longer be postponed: Olivier is a guarantee, but he will turn 37 in September and at the Rossoneri they logically cannot think of relying only on him. It is necessary to diversify, possibly adding fresh forces to the department. In recent years, AC Milan has always bet on experience in choosing a centre-forward, with fluctuating results: the return of Ibra was the first stone on which to build the recovery and the hiring of Giroud with a minimum cost (one million at Chelsea) capitalized to the maximum, but Mandzukic also arrived up front, a zero-goal flop, and Origi, another free agent who disappointed. The change in the next transfer market will lead to a young profile and among the names circled in red is that of Folarin Balogun, born in 2001 from Arsenal on loan to Reims.

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English of Nigerian origins, Balogun grew up in the Academy of the Gunners, a club to which he is very close: in red and white he made his debut and scored his first professional goals, at 19 in the Europa League, then here are the loans. Middlesbrough in the Championship between January and June 2022 and now Ligue 1 with Reims, where he is showing off his striker skills: 15 goals in 25 league appearances, -3 behind top scorer Mbappé. At the end of the season Balogun will return to Arsenal, where he will find fierce and… unusual competition: more “fake” 9s than classic centre-forwards, from Martinelli to Saka, from Trossard to Gabriel Jesus himself. And this could become an advantage for Milan, who instead need a first striker. The obstacle? The valuation of Arsenal, a club that makes its jewels pay without discounts: today we are around 20-25 million but between now and June the price could rise. The “usual” Champions League can make the difference: playing it or not will define Milan’s budget. Who looks around without turning off the radar on the old dots, from Okafor of Salzburg to Jonathan David of Lille. Notebooks are also open for the right wing: the interest in Dario Osorio, the 19-year-old Chilean from the Universidad de Chile already treated in January, has never waned.