Milan left little choice but to cash in on clinical Bacca

“Scoring is what matters,” Carlos Bacca tells himself. “How you do so isn’t important.” If the Milan striker could only finish in one way, however, he wouldn’t hesitate in choosing the rabona. “When you’re growing up, every kid visualises the kind of goal they would like to score,” Bacca explained. “There are kids who dream about scoring from the half-way line, kids who dream about scoring a bicycle kick and so on. I have always wanted to score a rabona. I have tried with every team I have played for.” 

Bacca attempted one while on international duty against Peru last September and then soon afterwards against Palermo. It didn’t come off and his coach at the time Sinisa Mihajlovic threatened to grab him by the shirt and lift him up against the dressing room wall if he ever tried it again. Bacca must be a braver man than most because it didn’t stop him. He kept having a go even while on holiday during the winter break. “I scored one playing with my mates.” 

Not too long after a Christmas spent honing his rabonas, Bacca scored the first of his professional career in the Coppa Italia against Carpi. He rounded the goalkeeper then flicked his right foot behind his left and used it to poke the ball home. “It was a dream come true. The joy I have held deep inside of me since I was a child just exploded.” 

To some it is a frustrating and unnecessary piece of skill. To Bacca it is essential. Rather than shoot with his weaker left foot, which critics think he should dedicate more time to in training, he will hit a rabona with his right instead. The audacity of the skill hides how dependant he is on that side. 

It may look frivolous, but, in truth, there is very little waste in Bacca’s game. Ten of his first 12 goals for Milan came with his first shot on target and his conversion rate of 23.4% was better even than Gonzalo Higuain. Not bad for his first season in Italy. Actually it’s quite remarkable when you consider how average Milan were and that chances were so few and far between. 

Of Milan’s 48 league goals - their lowest total for a season in 14 years - Bacca scored 18. Only Higuain and Paulo Dybala were more prolific in Serie A. Bacca had a better first year at San Siro than Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit at least statistically speaking. Not since Zlatan Ibrahimovic have Milan had a striker post the kind of numbers Bacca did last season. The club’s chief executive Adriano Galliani compared him with Andriy Shevchenko for the kind of goals he scored. Milan’s former captain Massimo Ambrosini saw feint similarities in his playing style and pace with the young, original Ronaldo. High praise indeed. 

To be clear they were not saying he is like-for-like. Only that there were shades of their game in his own. His speed in particular caught many by surprise. “Honestly, I didn’t know he was this quick,” Hernan Crespo said. Fast to react, his movement in the box meant defenders were very often second to the ball. Although it would be disingenuous to define Bacca exclusively as a poacher, not least because of his ability to take players on and beat them with his acceleration, of the 52 goals he has scored in La Liga and Serie A, 51 have been inside the penalty area. He is the quintessential fox in the box. 

The criticism is that he doesn’t involve himself enough in the play. A man of few touches, there are times when Bacca has been accused of going missing. Speaking of which, you will notice he is not on Milan’s tour of the US. When told about it by the club, Il Corriere della Sera understands Bacca was so angry he turned off his phone. New coach Vincenzo Montella hasn’t been able to get through to him. 

The reasoning behind the decision is financial. After spending €90m last summer and recouping hardly any of it, Milan need to bring in some money after all the investments they made didn’t return the club to the Champions League.

With the club’s takeover hit by delay after delay and no guarantee prospective new owner Sonny Wu will spend big from the get-go - there might only be €15m available to recruit new players - Milan need to sell if they are to raise funds to buy the players required by Vincenzo Montella to implement his hyper-technical possession-based system. As August approaches and the new season appears ever closer on the horizon, the urgency is all the greater. 

Bacca is Milan’s most saleable asset. West Ham have made an offer of €30m which meets their asking price. After amortisation, that figure will allow Milan to make a €7.5m profit on what they paid for Bacca a year ago. However, the trouble is, even as West Ham continue to make personal terms more and more attractive, Bacca is holding out for a club in the Champions League, preferably in Spain. For now Atletico have ruled themselves out. But a return to Sevilla could still emerge as an opportunity. Gonzalo Higuain’s imminent move to Juventus also leaves Napoli in need of a new striker, although their first choice for the position is Mauro Icardi. 

“It’s difficult to deprive yourself of a player like Carlos,” Montella admitted. But in order to land the likes of Mateo Musacchio, Piotr Zielinski, Leandro Paredes and Jose Sosa, it’s a sacrifice Milan have little option but to make. 

Where do you think Bacca will end up this summer? Let us know in the comments below