GdS: Milan ready €50m January assault for Tresoldi to give Ramos a partner – the strategy
Oliver Fisher
AC Milan are serious about signing Nicolo Tresoldi from Club Brugge, with an attempt being readied ahead of the winter window.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan intend to sign another striker even before the summer arrives, in order to boost their Champions League hopes. The name that they have chosen is someone the fans already know well: Nicolo Tresoldi.
At the end of June, the club announced the signing of Gonçalo Ramos for over €70m, the most expensive signing in the club’s history to date (and likely for a while to come). Ramos hasn’t – at least for now – cured Milan’s goal-scoring deficiency in the No.9 role.
The chosen one
The negotiations for Tresoldi, however, are shaping up to be costly. Last summer, Club Brugge rejected another Italian offer of €35m from Roma, and in the meantime the price has skyrocketed after the forward bagged 13 goals in 15 games.
Adding his four goals this season against Germany’s youth team brings him close to 20 for the season already. His league hat-trick against VV Sint-Truiden at the end of October followed his hat-trick at San Siro against Inter, marking the night that every Rossoneri fan knew his name.
Therefore, the cost could now be around €50m, another huge expense if Milan really decide to go all-in. The club made a €24m loss in the last accounts after three years of profit, and the temptation is to speculate to accumulate, i.e. to invest more and make sure of the Champions League revenues.
There’s a desire to finalise the deal as early as the January transfer window, unless Brugge move to raise the price, perhaps due to a potential foreign competition. Milan believe that their relationship with the Belgian side is actually strong, with Gerry Cardinale ready to lead talks again.
As for Ramos, the investment so far has yielded just three goals and two assists, which doesn’t mean he wasn’t effective and is ready to be shelved, but it’s precisely when paired with another striker that the management believes the Portuguese could be more productive.
In short, a two-striker team can’t be ruled out in the future, with Tresoldi alongside the former Benfica man. In the European race goals fuel the climb, and Milan know this after last season’s late collapse, keen to avoid it again.
Willing to wait
Should Milan hit a wall erected by Club Brugge, they would leave the Tresoldi option open for the summer. In the meantime, they would fill the gap with a striker on loan from a top European club.
However, Tresoldi could provide an initial assist for Milan: his support for the Rossoneri is well-known and has been publicly stated, so among the various options available, Nicolò would choose the San Siro.
A permanent return to Italy could also benefit coach Roberto Mancini, who – after the Under-21 European Championship (which Tresoldi will compete in with Germany) – would finally like him to play for the senior Azzurri side.
Nicolò, born in Cagliari in August 2004, is still free to choose which (senior) national team he wants to represent, and Mancini expressed his confidence earlier this week: “I spoke to Tresoldi, and Ranieri spoke to us too. First of all, I think he needs to feel the desire to play for Italy.
“He was born in Italy, like his father [former defender Emanuele], who played for the Under-21s and won the European Championship. I think there’s a chance he’ll choose the Azzurri. He knows he can be an important player for our future, and I hope he makes the right choice.”
