Milan have reached an agreement with Chelsea to acquire Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman is likely to travel to Italy to take the medicals and finalize the transfer Monday. The Rossoneri will pay a €1M fee, plus €1M add-ons that will be hard to achieve, Gianluca Di Marzio reported.
The striker had long come to terms on his contract as he will sign a two-year deal, making €3.5M per season. He scored 11 times in 31 games with the Blues last season. He has been with the Pensioners since 2018, joining from Arsenal and accumulating 119 appearances and 39 goals.
Milan have been targeting Giroud since the start of the season. However, they initially thought they would add him for free, but Chelsea activated a clause to extend his expiring deal. The talks with the English club have progressed slowly up until the last couple of days. The Rossoneri might do further business with them as they are also eyeing Hakim Ziyech and Tiemoué Bakayoko.
Giroud has been linked to a move to Serie A several times in the past. Over the years, he has been on Roma, Inter, and Juventus radar, but they never actually managed to buy him. Milan prioritized getting a pure center-forward to back up and partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the next campaign. They struggled when he was absent last season, as using Ante Rebic and Rafael Leao as false-nine had mixed results. The Swedish ace is rehabbing after knee surgery, but he is progressing well, and he should be ready for the start of the season.