Portuguese International striker Andre Silva underwent his medical examinations today at AC Milan’s training center ahead of his big money move from FC Porto
The 21-year-old underwent a his medical examination at the Milanello today, ahead of his big money move to the San Siro, which is expected to be formally announced soon. The Italian giants have reportedly agreed a fee of £33 million with FC Porto for the young striker, as per The Sun.
Silva is AC Milan’s fourth major signing of the summer after acquiring Mateo Musacchio, Franck Kessie and Ricardo Rodriguez. In doing so, they will have taken their summer spending well past the £50 million mark and they are showing no signs of slowing down.
The Rossoneri have seen off competition from the likes of Real Madrid and Arsenal, both of whom were rumoured to be keen admirers of the Gondomar-born forward, who recently scored his 7th International goal against Latvia in only his 9th game for Fernando Santos’ side.
Andre is just coming off a brilliant individual season with FC Porto, having finished as their top scorer with 21 goals and 8 assists in 44 appearances over the past campaign and over the course of the past year, has established himself as one of the best young strikers in Europe.
So it comes as no surprise that he has courted interest from such footballing giants. Arsenal were said to be scouting the forward with the view that he could be a possible replacement for Alexis Sanchez. Nevertheless, the Gunners could still use a striker of his qualities in their squad.
Giroud hasn’t be able to maintain a high level of consistency over the course of the past 5 years while Lucas Perez has endured difficult first season at the Emirates. Welbeck has had a lot of trouble with injuries and Silva would have added a significant amount of quality to the squad.
Exclusive: @andrevsilva19 was put through his paces at Milanello! ??
Esclusiva: primi test a Milanello per André Silva! ?? pic.twitter.com/XzpyNEpuCT— AC Milan (@acmilan) June 12, 2017
Real Madrid were also rumoured to be keen admirers of the Portuguese international, especially after their long term target Paulo Dybala signed a contract extension with Juventus. His compatriot and national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo, has also spoken highly of the youngster to the Madrid hierarchy.
The 32-year-old reportedly believed that he could have led the line for Los Blancos and that his qualities would have been put to better use at the Bernabeu. Given the uncertain futures of the Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata at the time, Silva would have been a great long term option.
Silva, who leaves Porto nearly 7 years after first joining their youth ranks as a 15-year-old, departs the club having scored 24 goals in 55 appearances, in his 2 seasons and the club. At Milan, he joins a new revolution of sorts, bankrolled by their new Chinese owners.
While Vincenzo Montella’s side young side won plaudits for their exciting football last season, their inexperience and inconsistency was evident and they ultimately finished seventh in the Serie A, only just qualifying for a Europa League qualification spot.
Their Supercoppa Italiana win was certainly a step in the right direction, but they will no doubt want to challenge for the Scudetto and finish in the Champions League places, where they feel they truly belong – having it won it 7 times in their illustrious history.
So with those goals in mind, Silva is a huge step in the right direction and for a mere £33 million, it seems like a huge bargain as well. We can certainly expect more top class signings to arrive at the club in the coming weeks, as the Rossoneri look to build on their promising 2016/17 campaign in their mission to bring the glory days back to the red half of the San Siro.
