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Giroud signing a shrewd move from Milan to strengthen squad

Sumeet Paul

AC Milan have had a busy week in the transfer market, and amongst their done deals was the signing of Olivier Giroud.

As per the club’s official site, the 34-year-old joins us from Chelsea and is believed to have signed an initial two-year deal, while it’s confirmed that he will wear the No.9 jersey this season.

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With Mario Mandzukic’s short stint at Milan over and given the lack of quality depth up front, addressing that area of the squad was always going to be a priority for the hierarchy this summer.

Giroud has emerged as the solution, and it should prove to be an excellent one.

Experience, winning pedigree and quality – Giroud improves Milan

The Frenchman has almost won it all over a successful career which includes a Champions League, Europa League and World Cup winners’ medal.

Having played at a high level during his time in England with the French national team, he is used to the pressure and responsibility that comes with such important roles for his respective sides.

That experience, pedigree, winning mentality and quality in the final third will all add important characteristics to what is still a relatively young squad, and it gives us another proven option up front to ease the burden on Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Giroud is exactly what Milan need given the system and style of play that we generally adopt too.

A physical presence up front who can act as a target man and bring others into play as well as being a threat in the air in the box while having the technical ability to score goals in other ways too.

The Rossoneri have a habit, sometimes frustratingly, of being dependent on crosses into the box, and with Giroud or Ibrahimovic, or perhaps even both, in the box, the creative players and full-backs in the side now have targets to look for.

As we look to be competitive across multiple fronts, including in the Champions League, Giroud will be very much familiar with the stage and what he needs to do in order to deliver, and so it’s a shrewd move from Milan to offer us an immediate impact.

Realistically, we can expect anything between 10 and 20 goals from Giroud next season across all competitions. Add Ibrahimovic’s tally and the creative players and wingers around them all chipping in, it makes us a more potent attack and there could yet be more to come.

Age is an obvious red flag as we have two players coming towards the end of their respective careers battling to lead the line. Perhaps a younger option to learn from them this season would be a sensible addition, but for now, Milan can be pleased with having a player of Giroud’s quality in the squad.

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