Opinion: Is Andre Silva the signing we deserve but not the signing we need?

AC Milan are on a signing spree, having just secured Andre Silva from Porto for €38 million following up on the transfers of Franck Kessie, Matteo Musacchio, and Ricardo Rodriguez.

While Silva's signing emphasises the intent of Milan to push for the Champions League next season, one needs to ask themselves if the likes of Silva and Kessie are really the signings that Milan need at the moment.

While both are excellent players and Kessie is an absolute bargain considering the unique financial security his loan deal offers in an expensive window like this, it is necessary to understand that Milan need results and they need them now. For comparison, Musacchio and Rodriguez are both proven performers entering their primes, which makes their transfers not only reasonable, but also efficient considering their price tags—Rodriguez has consistently been amongst the best left-backs in the Bundesliga during his time at Wolfsburg arguably making him the signing of the season.

With talks about Alvaro Morata and Belotti joining the Rossoneri dominating the headlines for weeks, it is a little anti-climatic to have spent nearly €40 million on an unpolished 21 year old who lacks the ability to fit into the locker room from the go due to his language. While this is not a criticism of the player, it certainly is a question at the board as to what was the intention behind Silva's acquisition—yes, he is a good player with a bright future and yes, this transfer might pay dividends in the long-term but is he really the one to lead Milan's front-line with twenty-odd goals in the league, every season? Is he really an adequate replacement for the production and instant impact of someone like Andrea Belotti or Alvaro Morata, who are guaranteed to provide the goods when they matter?

Both Silva and Kessie are excellent signings for the Devil and it is in stark contract to the transfer policy from a couple of years ago. However, there is still room for improvement and I would like to see Milan sign another player to share the goal-scoring burden and help reduce the pressure on the young Portuguese—if Andre Silva is the only signing in the striker department this season, I truly hope he does enough to justify his hefty transfer fee and proves me wrong.

Andre Silva is a player befitting of the AC Milan legacy, and while he is a signing we deserve, he isn't the signing we need.