Former striker Hernan Crespo does not want Milan fans to ‘get their hopes up’ for imminent signing Noah Okafor.
The Rossoneri are on the verge of completing their sixth signing of the summer transfer window, following Marco Sportiello, Luka Romero, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders.
Okafor has completed his medicals with Milan and is now ready to sign a five-year contract, understood to be worth around €2m net per season. The Rossoneri will pay RB Salzburg circa €14m for his signature.
Speaking on page eight of today’s Gazzetta dello Sport, Crespo first warned Milan fans not to expect a lot of goals from Okafor.
“I know him well, I’ve followed him in several matches. He’s a striker who moves a lot, capable of acting both out wide and in the centre. But, let’s say it now so that fans don’t get their hopes up, he is not a classic centre forward and he doesn’t have a lot of goals in his DNA.
“He has never played in the Italian league, which is the toughest in the world for strikers, and this is coming from someone who has experienced it first hand, and I would be happy for Milan if he managed to score 10 goals.”
He touched on how the Rossoneri were taking a risk of the RB Salzburg striker.
“Yes, but you can also win bets, you don’t always have to lose them…. Milan don’t have the budget to buy champions, so they go for players who aren’t very well known and try to enhance them.”
The former striker commented on how this strategy helped guide Milan to the Scudetto in the 2021-22 season.
“With this policy, let’s not forget, Milan won the Scudetto in 2022 and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2023. Who knew Tomori and Kalulu, just to name two, before they exploded in the Scudetto season?
“In today’s football, which is increasingly based on the collective, if you don’t have Mbappe or Haaland, who Milan cannot afford, you have to focus on game organisation and aggressiveness.”
Finally, Crespo discussed Stefano Pioli’s project, which focuses on younger players.
“And they do well because if you are organised, if you press, if you steal the ball in the offensive zone then you are more likely to annoy the opponents. Pioli has positive ideas, let him work in peace. And maybe he will make Okafor a number one.”
hopefully Noah will be like Lookman did in Serie A