AC Milan are very keen on signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Piatek replacement in January

According to Italian outlet Calciomercato, Milan is very unimpressed with striker Krzysztof Piatek, claiming they want to ship him off to open up funds to sign 38-year old Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hinted about a return to Europe. Many believe he’s too old now and won’t be able to succeed like he once did in top-tier football. But the latest news coming out of Italy is that the Swedish striker’s former club, AC Milan, are seriously considering bringing him in on a free transfer in January if they can offload Polish marksman Krzysztof Piatek, who has scored just 11 goals since he came over to Milan from Genoa in January.

Piatek was absolutely lethal when he first joined the Rossoneri, scoring seven goals in his first seven appearances at the San Siro. He then scored just two goals in his next 11 appearances last season, finishing with nine goals in 18 appearances.

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This season, the Polish international has been dreadful, scoring just two times. He’s been unable to find his top form that he previously had when he first came to Milan in January. AC Milan supporters, along with the front office, have not been impressed with his lack of productivity in the final third as the club sits in 12th place in the Serie A.

Sporting Director Paolo Maldini is said to be quickly losing patience with Piatek and will look to sell the 24-year old in January to open up funds for Ibrahimovic, who is available on a free transfer after leaving MLS side LA Galaxy.

Ibra had a prolific two-year career in Major League Soccer, scoring an impressive 52 goals in just 56 appearances while tallying 17 assists. The league looked like no competition whatsoever for the 38-year old Swede, so maybe he does have enough left in the tank to help Milan revive their season.

Ibrahimovic made 85 appearances across all competitions for Milan across two seasons from 2010-12, bagging 56 goals and 24 assists. He finished the 2011/12 campaign as the Serie A’s top scorer, netting 28 goals in 32 domestic appearances.

Obviously he’s a lot older now, but his impressive form in the US would make one think that he still has the talent to contribute in Europe. At this point, AC Milan has no other options because Piatek is simply not doing the job up front as their number nine. The club is also looking to bring in a left-back, central defender, and another striker in January if possible.

It would definitely be exciting to watch Ibrahimovic play at the San Siro once again, but we’ll have to wait until January to see if a deal could actually be put in place.