Džeko to Milan?

In some of the more appetizing transfer speculation in recent months, AC Milan is said to be interested in Wolfsburg’s Edin Džeko. Take it all with a grain of salt, but a lot of information has come out over this recently and I wouldn’t be surprised if a deal was eventually reached.

The story begins with a man called Mladen Naletilić. I’m not sure how many Milan fans will recognize the name, but Naletilić has been a key figure in their club for years. He’s friends with Berlusconi, Ariedo Braida, Kaka and everyone in between; as an agent, he was the one responsible for bringing Zvonimir Boban, Dejan Savičević and other legends to the club. What makes it all the more extraordinary is that Naletilić comes from Lištica, a small Croat town in southwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnian media have therefore had pretty easy access to him, and the outgoing Naletilić has made it no secret that he’s been selling Džeko to Milan’s top brass.

This interest has been going strong ever since Džeko established himself in the Bundesliga. Milan sent several scouts to the friendly against Slovenia last month, and they reportedly liked what they saw. Conveniently, Wolfsburg was set to face Milan at the San Siro in mid December, providing a perfect opportunity both for Džeko to showcase his skills and for Milan’s people to get a better look. Naletilić was scheduled to make a trip to Slovenia that day for some ceremony or another, but Braida (Milan’s sporting director) ordered him to stay behind so that they could take another look at Džeko. And although Edin failed to get on the scoresheet, he had a very strong game; he created three good opportunities and was touted by some as MOTM.

This is where the story – as reported by Bosnian media through interviews with Džeko and Naletilić – gets particularly interesting. According to the Herzegovinian, Braida was very pleased with what he saw, telling him “This Džeko was brilliant. A very interesting forward.” Naletilić said that Braida wanted to talk to Džeko, and implied that Milan could follow through on their interest. Džeko himself didn’t exactly dispel any rumors. At the end of the game, he switched shirts with Shevchenko – an exchange he would later comment on to Bosnian reporters.

“As long as I can remember, I’ve supported Milan and Shevchenko. As a boy, I dreamed of meeting Sergej Barbarez and Shevchenko. I met Sergej and played against him, and now I’ve finally met Shevchenko as well.”

As the clip above shows, Džeko is a strong and sturdy striker with a great sense of balance and a solid shot. He has great physical attributes (1.92m) and an outstanding technique/respectable pace for his build. He also has a reputation as a tireless worker, and through training has made great progress in his game. My favorite example of this is his heading; last year he was absolutely dreadful there, but this season he’s even scored two headers in a single match. It all adds up to a fine striker with plenty of upside, and interest from a giant like AC Milan should not come as a great surprise. If Džeko continues making similar strides in the year to come, he could soon grow into a world class player.

p.s. For all those wondering (including the numerous Spanish, Arabic and other TV commentators who routinely butcher his name), the Dž is pronounced like an English “Jay”. Je-ko, with an elongated E. Not Tse-ko, not Zeco, but Je-ko.