Is the former Sunderland attacker showing he is worth the £6m Celtic were reportedly willing to pay the Wearside club this summer?
If AC Milan manager Vincenzo Montella wasn’t under pressure before Sunday’s Derby della Madonnina clash with Inter Milan at the San Siro, he certainly is now.
While the Rossineri can consider themselves unfortunate to have lost 3-2 to their city rivals thanks to a controversial, last-gasp penalty, converted by hat-trick hero Mauro Icardi, the harsh reality is that Milan have now lost half of their eight Serie A fixtures in 2017/18.
Not the start the club was expecting after spending around £200 million in the summer. Yet, the majority of those big-money additions are yet to justify the hype or the price-tag. Andre Silva still hasn’t scored a Serie A goal, Hakan Calhanoglu has been a peripheral figure and was sent off in disgrace during the recent defeat to Roma while Leonardo Bonucci looks a shadow of the defender that shone in Juventus’ famed back-three.
All in all, few expected Fabio Borini to be one of the most impressive Milan performers in the early stages of 2017/18. The hard-working frontman was pilloried by many supporters even before he’d donned the red and black, arriving on loan after a particularly bad season with Sunderland.
Borini, however, is slowly starting to win over even the most cynical of critics. A natural centre-forward, the 26-year-old played at right-wing back against Inter for only the third time in his career and performed with typical determination and desire.
He even set up the late equaliser that looked to have earned Milan a deserved point prior to Icardi’s dramatic intervention.
On this form, it is not ridiculous to suggest Borini would have been worthy of becoming Celtic’s most expensive signing in 16 years. The Chronicle reported that Celtic were considering paying £6 million for the forward – the most they’ve ever splashed out on a player since John Hartson in 2001.
And Borini’s versatility, work ethic and improving end product could have come in very handy to Brendan Rodgers.
Instead, he looks arguably the best of Milan’s summer signings so far. And few saw that coming.
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