GdS: Why Boniface seems ‘anything but a ready-made solution’ for Milan

Victor Boniface looks all set to become AC Milan’s new striker, but there are some doubts about his profile to take into account.

Widespread reports claimed in the last 24 hours that Milan and Bayer Leverkusen have agreed a deal for Boniface. It will be a loan with an option to buy, coming in at a total sum of around €30m, if the buy-out is used.

Boniface not a safe bet?

La Gazzetta dello Sport have published a rather critical article regarding the Nigerian. They recall that he had 85 minutes in total across Leverkusen’s five summer friendlies, zero in the first competitive German Cup match in 2025-26, and one on April 20 2025 against St. Pauli, his final Bundesliga game.

Boniface ‘seems anything but a ready-made solution’, especially considering the emergency the Rossoneri are facing in attack following Rafa Leao’s injury and Noah Okafor’s departure. This is due to the injuries that have often plagued his career.

One statistic is enough: in 2025, the striker played 12 games for Bayer, scoring just three goals. Yet just seven months ago, Boniface was on his way to Saudi Arabia for €70m. To be precise, to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.

Photos: Marco Rossi + Lars Baron/Getty Images

“I was in a hotel in Frankfurt and was already buying gifts for my family, then everything fell through,” the player himself confirmed in a recent interview.

When he’s healthy, there is no doubting Boniface’s level. In 2023-24, his first year in Germany, he scored 21 goals in 34 games. The problem lies in the fragility of his powerful physique (he stands 1.90m tall).

The injury history is merciless: at Bodo Glimt, his first professional team in Europe, he tore his cruciate ligament twice: first in March 2019, then in November 2020.

This didn’t stop him from recovering and moving to Belgium to play for Union St. Gilloise, where in 2022-23 he exploded, also playing as a winger: 17 goals in 51 games.

Leverkusen thus brought him to one of the top five European leagues for the first time. And, as mentioned, he got off to a superb start. Boniface scored and impressed before, in January 2024, he was sidelined yet again: three months out with a serious adductor problem.

His final injury came in November 2024, a thigh problem that not only kept him out for 12 games but also affected his performance for the entire second half of the season. In short, for Milan, betting on the Nigerian would be a gamble.