Why Milan are convinced €40m+ signing will be perfect foil for Piatek

Milan are reportedly on the verge of the big-money signing of Angel Correa, with his touted price-tag arguably making it a major gamble.

As noted by Sky Sport Italia, the Rossoneri are expected to secure a deal worth €40m plus bonuses for the Atletico Madrid forward, with the transfer expected to be completed this week.

SEE MORE: No second chance for misfit as Milan ready to cash in with €30m exit

It’s another clear indication that coach Marco Giampaolo will implement his preferred 4-3-1-2 system at Milan, and that subsequently requires identifying the perfect partner for Krzysztof Piatek in the final third.

The 24-year-old made a superb start to life with us last season as he scored 11 goals in 21 appearances, but after his impressive initial impact, there was a period where he struggled and was often left isolated with a lack of support and service limiting his influence.

In turn, particularly with a two-man attack, Giampaolo will have spent the last few weeks considering his options as to who could not only partner Piatek, but also allow him to flourish in front of goal, and it seems as though Correa has emerged as the solution.

Doubts over Correa swoop and price-tag

Looking at his statistics, it doesn’t really do much to convince those doubting the move that this is a sensible swoop from Milan. The 24-year-old has managed 30 goals and 28 assists in 188 appearances for Atleti, and so when coupling that with the reported €40m fee, it starts to raise alarm bells over whether or not this is a wise decision to strengthen the squad.

The Argentine international has effectively been crowded out at the Wanda Metropolitano, and so Diego Simeone appears to be prepared to give the green light to an exit.

That doesn’t say much in favour of the move either as it’s not as if Milan are spending such a significant fee on a player in his prime and flourishing for one of the top clubs in Europe, and so there is a real element of risk in this transfer swoop as Correa will be under pressure to justify the faith set to be shown in him.

Attributes could make him perfect fit alongside Piatek

For all the negatives though, there are clear indications as to why Giampaolo could see Correa as an ideal addition to his XI as he fits the mould in terms of what he’s trying to build at Milan this summer.

As seen during his stints at Empoli and Sampdoria, the Italian tactician looks to implement a style of play which also requires an excellent work ethic off the ball to press high and force the opposition into mistakes in order to regain possession.

The likes of Theo Hernandez, Rade Krunic and Ismael Bennacer are more than capable of providing that, and as seen in the tweet below, Correa possesses great energy and tenacity to get about the pitch in the final third and harass opposition defences.

The diminutive Argentine has a little Alejandro Gomez about him, and perhaps securing a prominent role at Milan will give him the platform to take his game to the next level.

While consistency appears to be his main issue, Correa evidently possesses great technical quality, pace, directness and creativity up front which can be used to stretch defences and create dangerous goalscoring opportunities for chief threat Piatek in the final third.

Further, as seen in the video below, the Argentine has the ability to produce a moment of magic, and so in terms of finding a capable support striker to offer key attributes in both aspects of the game for Giampaolo, he appears to tick all the right boxes in terms of what the current management are looking for.

Further, as noted by Sky Sport Italia in their report above, Milan are expected to receive around €30m from the sale of Andre Silva to Monaco, and so effectively it could be interpreted that the cost of signing of Correa is largely being covered by the Portuguese misfit’s exit.

Simultaneously, Milan are adding a player better suited to the role, and if Correa manages to fit in seamlessly over the next 10 months and plays a pivotal role in getting us back into the top four in Serie A, that questionable transfer fee could be quickly forgotten.

There is no doubt that it is a lot of money and there are question marks over the move, but ultimately, this entire summer is seemingly going to be about trusting Giampaolo and his methods, with the management backing him and bringing in reinforcements to perfectly compliment his plans for how we play and how he intends on getting us back into the Champions League at the end of it.