Jean-Pierre Papin was excited about the possible pairing of Olivier Giroud and Divock Origi up front for Milan, believing ‘they can coexist’.
The Rossoneri have made a few additions to Stefano Pioli’s squad this summer as they look to try and defend their Scudetto in the upcoming season. Milan only finished two points above intercity rivals Inter last campaign, so they’re hoping the arrivals of players like Origi and Charles De Ketelaere can maintain their slight advantage.
Speaking to SportWeek, Papin first discussed the arrival of Origi and how he can fit alongside Giroud up front for Milan.
“I don’t know if Pioli considers it to be one or the other. They have different characteristics, Giroud is a classic centre forward, Origi is a target man, he can also play out wide and ‘go around’ Olivier.
“I think they can coexist and do well together, but it will depend on the system of play that the coach adopts.”
He underlined the love that Giroud feels for the Rossoneri only a year after his arrival at the club.
“Nothing could be more natural. Giroud has Milan in his heart, like me. This is a club that wins you over immediately, from the very first training sessions you realize how privileged you are to play for a team with so much history.
“This summer I heard from Oliver, he told me he was in love with Milan, ‘here I feel great, when I score goals I do it first and foremost for the fans.’
“He was impressed by the history at the San Siro, I understand it, when you have 80,000 people pushing above you, it can only be like that.”
Finally, Papin gave his thoughts on Milan shot stopper Mike Maignan, who had an incredible debut campaign in Italy.
“Maignan is already among the absolute frontrunners, I don’t know if he can overtake Lloris for the World Cup but the future is his.
“The fact that he’s very good with his feet is common knowledge, but in Ligue 1 I had never seen him play with the ball like he did last season.
“At Milan he has made huge progress, also from a mentality point of view, on the pitch he is calm and confident as only great goalkeepers know how to be.”
Milan will face Papin’s old home Olympique Marseille tomorrow in a pre-season friendly, their penultimate before the start of the Serie A season. Their campaign kicks off against Udinese on August 13.