Milan Striker Gimenez Bounces Back, Silences Chatter | OneFootball

After missing a few easy chances in the first rounds, Santiago Gimenez finally scored his first goal of the season in the Coppa Italia against Lecce. The center-forward has received an extended look since Rafael Leao has been sidelined by a calf injury so far.

The center-forward could have fleed in the summer and was attached especially to a swap with Roma involving Artem Dovbyk, but it didn’t come to fruition. He affirmed his attachment to the Rossoneri in his post-game remarks to Mediaset.

According to Fabrizio Romano (via SOSFanta), the center-forward didn’t instruct his agent to look for a way out amid his slump and test the waters to possibly depart in January. He has been focusing on improving to try to measure up with Serie A and fight for minutes.

Leao is expected to return against Napoli but will likely be eased into action. Considering Milan’s scheme, the Mexican marksman also faces competition from Christopher Nkunku.

Our Take on Milan and Gimenez

He’s in for an interesting few months after being seemingly discarded by the team during the summer, only to quickly resurface out of necessity. It remains to be seen whether Leao can really star as a no.9 as they envision. Perhaps it’ll work better than in the past with their current style. The former PSV star is proving to be a volume scorer rather than a clutch one, but he’ll have the chance to shed that label.