Official: Krzysztof Piatek joins Milan from Genoa

Well, the deal is done.

Genoa striker Krzysztof Piatek has officially joined AC Milan in a deal that will see Piatek stay at the San Siro until 2023.

Piatek was an unknown quantity this past summer when he joined Genoa from Cracovia Krakow, but he’s since lit Serie A on fire, scoring 19 goals in 21 appearances for Genoa this season.

Piatek also made his debut for the Poland national team this past autumn, scoring one goal in two appearances for his national team. The 23 year-old striker had a break through season last year in the Polish Ekstraklasa, scoring 21 goals in 36 league appearances, almost doubling his goal total from the year before, when he scored 11 goals in the 2016-17 season in 27 league appearances.

Piatek replaces Gonzalo Higuain at Milan, as the 31 year-old Argentina national striker will trade a loan from Juventus to Milan for a loan from Juventus to Chelsea. He will rejoin his former Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea. Under Sarri, the former Real Madrid forward enjoyed not only a rebirth in his career, but also had a career year that saw him score 36 Serie A goals in 35 appearances in the 2015-16 season, which saw him then earn a big money move to Juventus.

Chelsea will now also send their striker Alvaro Morata to Atlético Madrid, sending the Spain international back to La Liga, as he’s never really fit in at Chelsea since moving to West London from Juventus.

Time will tell just how effective this move will be for Milan, but as of right now, Milan will be investing almost the same amount of money in a 23 year-old striker as it was going to in a 31 year-old striker in the downside of his career. And while Piatek hasn’t necessarily proven himself, and scoring goals at the San Siro might be a tad more stressful than scoring them at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, it appears that Milan has gotten a good deal that will allow them to make a good run at a spot in next season’s Champions League.