It has been aeons since fans of AC Milan last got excited about a striker that has starred for them. Over the years, fans of the Rossoneri have seen their storied club disintegrate and had to contend themselves with below average players the club brought in to sustain itself.
Some of the most aforementioned below average players could be seen in the striker role. It truly can be disconcerting to go from Marco Van Basten to Luiz Adriano, Andre Silva and Alessandro Matri. However, if this season is anything to go by, it may well be that Milan may have found their star striker capable of primarily scoring and hopefully allow the Italian giants to qualify for the promised land; Champions League football.
Watch Champions League | Soccer Live Streaming | DAZN CA
When Krzysztof Piątek made his full debut for the Milanese outfit in the Coppa Italia against Napoli, it was like taking a duck to water as he excelled by netting twice to seal Milan's passage to the quarterfinals. His first goal was ruthless finishing as he capitalised on a mistake by the Partenopei defence but his second demonstrated why he is so highly rated as he made Kalidou Koulibaly look average before rifling the ball into the top corner.
After the game, the Poland international promised the Milan fans that there was more to come and mentioned how the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza was a stage he was destined for. Indeed, his words did not ring hollow as he followed up by scoring against Roma to put his team firmly on track for Champions League qualification. Yes, Piatek's performances have undoubtedly led to fans comparing him to Andriy Shevchenko, but as we all know, comparisons are dangerous in the world of football.
Piatek may have scored 19 goals in 21 competitive games for Genoa but to shell out €35 million for a player based on his current form was always going to be a risk though, at the moment, it has paid off handsomely. Also, it underlines the good work that Leonardo and Paolo Maldini have been doing in identifying young talents with the potential to succeed with Lucas Paqueta being another example.
Gonzalo Higuain's departure has quickly been forgotten thanks to Piatek who is experiencing an eventful first season in Italy but there is still a long way to go in the calendar and the jury is still out on whether he is a flash in the pan. At the moment however he can do wrong and fans of the seven-time Champions League winners, will hope it remains that way.