Scouting AC Milan Transfer Target Leonardo Pavoletti

AC Milan have been linked to several players as they look to reinvigorate their squad following a disappointing seventh-place Serie A finish in 2015-16. The summer transfer window rumour mill is well and truly underway, and one particular piece of speculation that refuses to die down regards Genoa striker Leonardo Pavoletti.

According to La Nazione (h/t Forza Italian Football), the Rossoneri “have already tested the waters, offering €20 million plus midfielder Suso” for the 27-year-old centre-forward.

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Milan undoubtedly need to refresh their striking options. Carlos Bacca was the club’s most productive finisher last season with 18 league goals, a tally that ensured only Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain (36 goals) and Juventus’ Paulo Dybala (19) finished ahead of him in the Serie A scoring charts.

However, the team’s next highest scorer was Giacomo Bonaventura, an attacking midfielder, with six to his name.

With injuries meaning Mario Balotelli missed much of the first half of the campaign and M’Baye Niang most of the latter portion, Milan often had few fully fit, effective forwards to call upon. As a consequence they hit a mere 49 goals in 38 league games, their lowest total since 2001-2002, when they found the net just 47 times.

Among other things, including a reinforced back line and a touch of additional midfield inspiration, the Rossoneri are unquestionably in need of support up front, and that’s where Pavoletti could come in.

The striker didn’t enjoy a conventional route to the top of Italian football. Born in Livorno, he began his career with local club Armando Picchi Calcio in Serie D before moving on to Viareggio, Pavia, Juve Stabia, Casale and Virtus Lanciano in the lower leagues.

He helped the latter to promotion from Lega Pro in his one and only year with them, bagging 16 goals to earn a move to Sassuolo, who were then in Serie B. He helped the Neroverdi into Serie A but spent the 2013-14 season on loan at Varese where, back in the second tier, he scored 24 goals in 33 league games.

Despite such good form he failed to make an impression upon his return to the Mapei Stadium, with competition for places coming from the likes of Simone Zaza and Domenico Berardi. So, in search of first-team football, he moved on loan to Genoa in January 2015. The deal paid off spectacularly.

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Despite being handed just four starts in his first six months with the Grifone, he scored six times and won a permanent deal with the club. And, in 2015-16, he established himself not just as the team’s primary source of goals, but as one of the most effective strikers in Italy.

With 14 strikes to his name in just 25 appearances, he was one of the most efficient finishers in Serie A last term, with a goal every 136.9 minutes. For context, Bacca’s rate was one goal every 176.1 minutes.

It was Pavoletti’s double effort that pulled Genoa back into their Derby della Lanterna clash with Sampdoria in January, and later that same month it was his stunning scissor kick that sealed a 4-0 rout of Palermo.

His influence at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris was summarised well by club president Enrico Preziosi, who told Radio Anch’io lo Sport (h/t Football Italia), “After Higuain I think (Pavoletti is) the best centre forward in Serie A.”

Pavoletti flourished playing under the auspices of Gian Piero Gasperini, a coach renowned for his unique 3-4-3 system and fluid style of football. Indeed, the striker highlighted his boss for specific praise last October, telling Il Secolo XIX (h/t Calciomercato): “Gasperini is helping me do things I would never have imagined.”

The hitman’s clinical form even earned him a call-up to Antonio Conte’s Italy national team squad prior to Euro 2016. And, while he did not make the final cut, his initial inclusion was an indication of just how much the player’s stock has grown in the past year.

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Pavoletti’s main assets include an instinctual nose for goal, good positioning and movement in the final third and excellent aerial threat. No player in Serie A won more headers per game than his 4.6 last season, per WhoScored.com.

He isn’t the fastest on the ground, nor is he the most skilful of attackers, something his 0.2 dribbles per game attest to, but in and around the penalty area he is a formidable presence. While he is undoubtedly effective, it is worth assessing if these characteristics make him the type of player who would fit in at Milan.

With Genoa, Pavoletti has led the line on his own, usually with the support of two wingers. He has been the team’s focal point for crosses and an outlet for long balls, while also offering good defensive work from the front. Essentially, he is an intelligent target man-cum-poacher who feeds off of the creativity of those behind him.

Were he to join Milan in the current circumstances, the likelihood is that he would be asked to play as part of a front two with Bacca. But in order for such a partnership to work, the Rossoneri would likely have to play a more direct brand of football, as neither are particularly adept at dropping deep to combine with the midfield.

This, however, assumes that Pavoletti would be signed as an addition to the existing setup rather than as a replacement.

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In recent weeks there has been persistent talk of Bacca moving on this summer, with Premier League side West Ham United the latest club to be linked to the 29-year-old, according to reports in Italy, per Sky Italia (h/t talkSPORT).

On Thursday, the player’s agent, Sergio Barila, did little too cool off speculation, telling Tuttosport (h/t talkSPORT):

"

I have been waiting for hours, but nothing has been decided at the moment, as we are evaluating more than one option. There are many important clubs who have contacted us, and it is normal as Bacca guarantees you many goals during the season. And he is definitely a valuable player in the market.

"

It is entirely possible, then, that Milan’s interest in Pavoletti is borne out of the notion that Bacca may leave the club.

Taking this into account it is noteworthy that, per 90 minutes, the Genoa man—despite having a worse shot accuracy—scored and assisted comparably more goals, completed more passes, won more aerial duels, made more tackles and interceptions than the Colombian, according to Squawka.com.

The statistics suggest Pavoletti possesses more ability than Bacca in building up attacks and contributing to the defensive phase, showcasing him to be more of an all-round striker.

So, should Milan’s top scorer in 2015-16 leave this summer, the club may well have already lined up an adequate replacement.

Transfermarkt.co.uk value Pavoletti at £3.75 million, but Genoa are unwilling to sell him for anything less than €25 million, as reported by La Nazione (h/t Football Italia). One bonus the Rossoneri may have over everyone else in negotiations, however, is that the player is a fan of the club, per WhoScored’s James Horncastle.

Milan president Silvio Berlusconi is currently in the process of assessing whether to relinquish ownership of the club to Chinese investors and, according to sources such as Calciomercato and Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia), he is convinced by the prospective buyers’ intentions.

Should this takeover go through, there could be a change in direction regarding the Rossoneri’s transfer policy, with possible new funds allowing for higher profile summer targets.

But, even if this does happen, Pavoletti should not be forgotten about as a potential addition to Milan’s striking options. He may be a late bloomer, and he isn’t a big name, but he has the attributes and the quality to rejuvenate the club’s poor scoring record.