When Milan splashed out €35m+ on Krzysztof Piatek in January, eyebrows were raised over whether or not his form at Genoa was enough to warrant such a hefty upfront fee.
As noted by The Guardian, a deal was struck last month for an immediate payment, with the 23-year-old signed to fill the void left behind by Gonzalo Higuain after his failed stint with us.
SEE MORE: Video: Every touch from Krzysztof Piatek as he makes Milan debut vs Napoli
Piatek was scoring goals and settling into life in Serie A perfectly at Genoa, but question marks remained over whether or not he could step up a level in quality at Milan and deal with the expectations and responsibility on his shoulders.
His response has been emphatic. He’s scored six goals in five games since joining us, keeping us in contention for the Coppa Italia while also ensuring we remain in the top four, with the priority being qualification for the Champions League.
As seen in the video below, the quality of his goals is of the highest order, with his movement, instincts and clinical finishing giving us fans licence to dream that we may finally have a prolific forward to lead our line for years to come.
??? 6 goals in 4 AC Milan games for Krzysztof Piątek ???
This goal gets better every time you see it!#MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/vHIrTLG1MA
— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) February 18, 2019
Gone are the doubts over consistency, whether he can sustain his goalscoring exploits and if he can adapt and settle at Milan. Granted, neither Piatek nor the team as a whole have achieved anything yet, but the early signs suggest that he is undoubtedly capable of firing us back to Europe’s top table and beyond.
From his finishing to his clever movement off the ball and his humble approach, he arguably ticks every single box required to succeed in Gennaro Gattuso’s Milan, and the results are on show for all to see.
This one just fits. Milan have needed a centre-forward capable of producing moments of individual magic in recent years, while also requiring just one chance to make the difference. After falling behind at Atalanta on Saturday night, few would have expected us to be level just before half-time.
Up stepped Piatek, with a moment of absolute class. And yet despite his fast start at Milan and the attention that has come his way, his only focus remains scoring goals.
I’m very happy. I’m a striker, I want to score. At the moment, I have six goals from five games. I need to carry on like this while looking to help the team. I feel like I’m in a family here, I feel very good and I’m happy. We’re working a lot during the week, we’re all getting to know one another better and understand more about how the moves we make. Gattuso? He’s giving me a lot of confidence. He’s a great coach and he was a legend for this Club.
The job is nowhere near done, as Milan still have 14 Finals to come to ensure that we’re back in the Champions League next season.
However, if you assess his goals closely and the way in which he has seamlessly fitted into this team, there is no reason to doubt that Piatek isn’t capable of scoring plenty more goals between now and the end of the season and making a lasting mark at Milan beyond this year.
There is rarely such a thing as a guarantee in football, as Higuain showed. Now though, Leonardo and Paolo Maldini may well have struck gold with a calculated risk.
As seen in the video below, Milan have got a new hero and he couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time to make the difference. Long may it continue.
⚫️? Is there a more iconic chant right now than the Piatek one? ?? pic.twitter.com/w2yv25aRIE
— COPA90 (@COPA90) February 17, 2019
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.