Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres is becoming an increasingly enticing option for Milan ahead of the summer transfer window, and the Rossoneri could make use of Swedish icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic in negotiations according to recent reports.
Milan are on the lookout for a new and ideally long-term centre-forward. While Olivier Giroud is still putting in decent performances at the age of 37, his contract is up at the end of the 2023-24 season and reports suggest that he could be heading to the United States for a spell in MLS.
La Gazzetta dello Sport are reporting that Milan are growing more and more keen on the idea of signing Gyokeres.
The 25-year-old has netted a staggering 36 goals and has also provided 14 assists from 39 appearances for Sporting in all competitions in 2023-24.
The season prior, he helped fire Coventry City to the 2023 Championship play-off final, finishing the campaign as the division’s second highest goalscorer with a tally of 21.
Gyokeres price tag and other Milan options
Sporting invested a sum of €20m plus €4m in bonuses to sign Gyokeres from Coventry last summer, signing a five-year contract, which reportedly includes a release clause of €100m.
La Gazzetta dello Sport hint that the price tag could potentially be lowered if the player wants to leave. However, if that were the case, Milan would likely still need an offer of around €50m-€60m minimum, as per Saturday morning’s print edition.
Those figures seem to be the starting price for some of the other strikers that Milan have been linked with in recent weeks.
Some of the names on the Rossoneri list reportedly include Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee, Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez and Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig.
Napoli-linked Jonathan David is another option for Milan, and potentially a slightly more affordable one too, as he will be entering the final year of his contract with Lille in the summer.
Can Milan tempt Gyokeres with Ibrahimovic?
With his impressive figures in front of goal, Gyokeres is attracting plenty of interest from clubs across Europe, including from Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League according to other recent reports.
Milan will face heavy competition in the transfer window, but they do have one unique and potentially advantageous card left to play.
A 20-time Sweden international, Gyokeres, naturally, is familiar with former Milan striker and current senior adviser to the board, Ibrahimovic. The pair both featured from the bench against Belgium last year, in what turned out to be Ibrahimovic’s final game as a professional.
The Rossoneri will have to rely heavily on Ibrahimovic’s influence if they are to go after Gyokeres in the summer, La Gazzetta dello Sport suggest.