Alvaro Morata at AC Milan Contingency Plan or Genius Signing?

It’s out with the old and in with the, well, not so old as far AC Milan are concerned. 

The Rossoneri’s quest to find a replacement for Olivier Giroud finally ended in mid-July, as they secured the signing of Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid.

AC Milan triggered the Spaniard’s €13m (£11m) release clause and Morata signed a four-year deal, with an option for a further 12 months.

Fresh from captaining Spain to Euro 2024 glory, Morata, who wears the No 7 shirt, is expected to lead Milan’s attack under Paulo Fonseca.

Morata’s arrival is simultaneously intriguing and puzzling.

Here is a player who scored 21 goals across all competitions for Diego Simeone’s side last season, but only found the net twice from January onward.

Morata’s 15 goals in LaLiga last term matched Giroud’s Serie A tally, but in three fewer games.

It was also the most the Spaniard has scored in the league in a single season, equalling his career-best from the 2016-17 campaign during his second spell at Real Madrid.

Morata is significantly quicker than Giroud, but lacks the Frenchman’s aerial prowess and penalty box presence.

Conversely, the Spaniard is an upgrade on the Frenchman in terms of link up play and excels at opening space for his teammates, as highlighted by his performances for Spain. 

It may be optimistic to expect Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic to be as threatening as Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal were at Euro 2024, but the Milan wingers could reap the benefits of playing alongside Morata.

A different kind of striker

During his time at Lille, Fonseca used Jonathan David as the main focal point of his attack.

David and Morata share some attributes, but their profiles are fundamentally different. The same can be said of Benjamin Sesko, Serhou Guirassy, Victor Gyokeres and Joshua Zirkzee.

All of them were linked with a move to Milan at the end of last season, but Sesko has opted to stay put at Red Bull Salzburg, while Guirassy swapped Stuggart for Borussia Dortmund.

Milan had agreed to activate Zirkzee’s release clause of €40m (£34.4m), only to be put off when the player’s agent, Kia Joorabchian, demanded a hefty commission fee.

Zirkzee, who scored 11 Serie A goals for Bologna last term, eventually signed for Manchester United in a €42.5m (£36.6m) deal in July.

Milan subsequently turned to Morata, whose style is markedly different from Zirkzee, even though the pair share some similarities. 

But while the Spaniard may not have been Milan’s first choice, he cannot be dismissed simply as a contingency plan.

At 31, Morata isn’t quite in the home straight of his career, but brings the kind of leadership and experience to a squad whose average age was 24.7 years last season.

By comparison, Inter Milan’s average was 27, Juventus 26 and Napoli 25.5 respectively.

Sacchi excited by Morata signing

“I think that signing Morata was an excellent move,” former AC Milan boss Arrigo Sacchi told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“The Spaniard is a lively centre-forward, who moves a lot on all fronts, who knows Italian football and, above all, who knows what needs to be done to win.

“He can be important on the pitch and in the dressing room, given his experience at international level.”

Morata also will not need time to settle in Serie A, having already played in Italy in two separate spells – both with Juventus.

The Spaniard joined the Bianconeri on a two-year loan deal in 2014 from Real Madrid and earned a reputation for scoring crucial goals in pivotal moments.

He returned to Turin four years after an ill-fated spell at Chelsea and reasonably productive two seasons at Atletico Madrid, but he found himself behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Dusan Vlahovic in the pecking order.

Nevertheless, the Spaniard scored regularly and left Juventus with 59 goals to his name in 185 appearances in all competitions and two Serie A titles and three Coppa Italia in his trophy cabinet.

Morata may not be the transformational signing some Milan fans may have hoped for, but he’s a striker of proven quality available for a cut-price fee. 

And as Sacchi noted, he may prove to be the cornerstone Fonseca needs to build his team upon.

“Teams are not built by putting together stickers, but by giving an identity, a style, a game to the whole group,” he said. 

“This is what I expect from Fonseca. Atalanta last season conquered the Europa League without spending stratospheric figures: it is the demonstration that work and ideas, in the long run, always pay off.”

Morata wasted no time in making his presence felt, scoring on his debut against Torino as the Rossoneri came back to earn a point from two goals down.

That was as good as it got for the former Real Madrid man, who sustained a thigh injury, which is expected to keep him out for three weeks.

The setback is a reminder that for all his qualities, the Spaniard’s fitness record can be a concern, as he missed an average of 4.6 matches per season over the last 10 years. 

Even before his injury, Morata’s arrival was simultaneously intriguing and puzzling.