By Ewah Chika.
Upon signing for AC Milan for £7.3 million former Pescara forward Gianluca Lapadula had this to say about the move , "I am very happy, and I thank president (Silvio) Berlusconi and (Adriano) Galliani. It was a deal that happened in a flash , strongly desired by both sides and rightly so."
Lapadula is not a big name in the game considering he just played one season in Pescara (Seria B). The forward helped Pescara win promotion to Seria A through the play-offs after scoring 30 goals in 44 Seria B games for Massimo Oddo's side (former AC Milan player). At 26, Lapadula still has a lot of years ahead of him, although he has been likened to Jamie Vardy who also had a sensational season with Leicester City but at an advanced age of 29. The Italian is a left footed forward who is prolific in the third half of the field .
Lapadula's path to glory has been far from rosy as he was rejected by Juventus as a boy before flopping in lower-league teams like Pro Vercelli and Ivrea . Like in his other clubs , the forward again flopped in Parma (2009) before failing again in Atletico Roma and Ravenna. Lapadula will later play in Gorica in Slovenia and Teramo in Italy.
Unlike Carlos Bacca, Lapadula is not just a player who thrives inside the penalty box often playing off the oppositions last defender . He can also contribute to his teams build up as well as an exceptional link-up play as well as playing in different forward positions. One of the forward's greatest strengths is his ball control which allows him to play in tight areas . The form of the striker was so good that he was tipped to make it into Antonio Conte's Italy squad did the European Tournament in France this summer. The forward will not only partner but relieve Colombian Carlos Bacca some burden as the former Sevilla forward alone netted 18 out of the 49 goals AC Milan recorded last season.
Milan fans will be happy to have him in their team given their last season poor goal tally which was the club's lowest since 2001. Milan must therefore make sure that Lapadula compliments Bacca instead of replacing the forward who has been linked with various top European clubs like Arsenal and West Ham. Lapadula is more all rounded than Bacca as the Colombian thrives when played as the last man instead of been tasked with defensive duties or dropping deep to receive passes from the midfielders. The sale of Bacca should never be considered by Milan as this might be disastrous considering Lapadula might not handle the pressure of being the top dog (focal point of Milsn's attack) after Bacca is sold . Another reason is that the upgrade of playing in Seria A might be too much for a forward who is not yet proven and only had one prolific season in his career (Seria B).
One major flaw in the signing of Lapadula is that is doesn't have the experience needed to play in a big club like AC Milan but at £7 million it is surprising (bargain) that Milan signed such a quality player in an inflated transfer market . Lapadula is 26, and will only get better, he is sure the right player for Milan at this point in time.
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