GdS: ‘The new No.9’ – how Allegri could use Füllkrug and the plan for his first few days

AC Milan’s first winter signing is through the door, and Niclas Füllkrug will become acquainted with Milanello from today.

La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report that yesterday temperatures in Milan were relatively mild: 10 degrees Celsius. Warm enough, according to Füllkrug, to move between medical tests in his short-sleeved shirt.

First, he went to the La Madonnina clinic for the actual medical, then to the Columbus Centre for his sports fitness tests. He passed all of these tests with flying colours, before moving on, at the end of the day, to Casa Milan for the contractual formalities, photos and interviews.

These materials will only be released from January 2nd, the day the transfer window re-opens, with the possibility of filing the documents and making things fully official. Today, more formalities await him before training.

Meanwhile, thanks in part to the green light from West Ham, Füllkrug will be at Milanello this morning for his first training session and his debut in the new facilities and with his new team. The boss, Massimiliano Allegri, will welcome him and explain the technical plans to him.

Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Formational flexibility

There are two possible uses for Niclas: Milan could remain true to their 3-5-2 formation or adapt to the presence of a strong centre-forward and convert to a 4-3-3. Füllkrug is physically strong, but he also has a technical ability that could prove useful to the team.

Max and Milan need goals. Füllkrug, who is 32 years of age, has more than a hundred of them. 129 to be precise, broken down as follows: 49 goals scored against Werder Bremen, six for Greuther Furth, 18 for Nuremberg, and 24 for Hannover.

Then there were the 15 goals at Dortmund, his last team in the Bundesliga, plus three at West Ham, who signed him in the summer of 2024 for €26m plus €4m in bonuses, with a contract until the summer of 2028. Finally are the 14 goals in 24 games he scored for Germany.

He has qualities that can fit Milan’s needs and the characteristics of Italian football: to try to make the most of them, Allegri will partner him with either Pulisic or Leao, maintaining the current formation.

The other solution is to expand the attack and create a three-man attack with Pulisic and Leao on the right and left flanks, with Füllkrug as the central point of reference. In this case, Saelemaekers would have to give up his position.

Another Giroud?

The shirt number has also been chosen: Niclas will wear the No.9, inherited from Luka Jovic. A number that, Giroud aside, evokes a series of recent flops. The likes of Mandzukic, Piatek, Higuain and André Silva have all worn it and were not successful.

The reference is obviously Olivier Giroud, who arrived as a back-up to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and went on to become the protagonist of a surprising Scudetto run. Füllkrug will be available on January 2nd in Cagliari, where Ibrahimovic’s second career as a Rossoneri striker kicked off with a goal.

He will meet Allegri for the first time today, then return to Germany to complete other formalities and spend Christmas, before returning to Milanello on the 26th. He will be available for the first match of the new year thanks to a federal exemption.

Thus will begin Füllkrug’s Rossoneri story: he will remain with Milan – according to his contract – until June. A potential buy-out after the free loan would cost the club just €5m.