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.

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.

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 …

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