He took the season by storm, scoring 16 goals and nine assists in 25 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen before injury cut short his campaign. As the season is winding down, Victor Boniface is already causing a storm in faraway Italy as two Serie A giants – AC Milan and Juventus, are scrambling for the signature of the Nigeria international
with Olivier Giroud set to join LAFC at the end of his contract in June and Bologna forward, Joshua Zirkzee’s asking price out of reach, AC Milan have identified Bayer Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface as their number one alternative.
Zirkzee, who is also eligible to play for the Nigerian Super Eagles due to his Nigerian heritage through his mother was Milan’s primary target for next season but the striker’s price tag is out of reach of Milan’s budget, the Rossoneri have turned their attention to Nigeria striker, Boniface.
According to Gazzetta, Bologna could be looking for a €75m sale for Zirkzee, the same sum paid by Manchester United to sign Rasmus Hojlund a year ago.
19-time Serie A champions, AC Milan, are set to lock horns with several other clubs as they eye Nigerian attacker as an alternative to Zirkzee.
Boniface joined Bayer Leverkusen from Union Saint-Gilloise for a fee in the region of €20 million and has proven his worth in his first season at the German club, scoring a total of 16 goals and making eight assists so far.
However, earlier reports revealed that former Serie A champions, Juventus, are monitoring Boniface’s situation at Bayer Leverkusen and could attempt to sign him if Dusan Vlahovic exits in the summer.
The Rossoneri could also be looking to sign the Nigerian after losing out on him in the last summer transfer window as they could not reach an agreement with the Super Eagles star, who was their long-term target.
Milan is primarily interested in Bologna star but his club is only willing to let him go for a reported fee of €75 million, which could force Milan to opt for a cheaper option if negotiations fall through between the two Serie A clubs.
Nonetheless, they have identified Boniface, who could reportedly cost them €50 million, setting up a battle between them and Juventus in the upcoming transfer window as they also vie for his signature.
Boniface is still tied with the Leverkusen outfit until June 2028, which means convincing offers would be needed from interested suitors to pry him away from Leverkusen.
Boniface was delighted to be back amongst the goals after missing a huge chunk of football since the turn of the year.
The 23-year-old was disappointed to be ruled out of Nigeria’s AFCON 2023 campaign in Ivory Coast as he suffered an adductor injury which kept him out of football for almost four months.
He made his return to the pitch in Leverkusen’s 4-0 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf in the DFB Pokal. He also came off the bench in the club’s 1-0 over Union Berlin at the weekend before repeating his antics last night, but this time, grabbing Leverkusen’s second goal against West Ham United.
Speaking in the mixed zone, the Nigerian forward revealed his delight to be back on the scoresheet, and the hunger to make up for the time he missed due to injury.
“I feel happy, you know. It’s not easy considering I was out for about three months. I missed a lot of games, so coming back to help my team means a lot and I’m really happy to be playing football again. I’m looking forward to helping my team whenever I’m called upon, we have a big game on Sunday, so we’re looking forward to that,” the former Union Saint-Gilloise man told OmaSports TV.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen manager, Xabi Alonso has hailed Boniface whose impacts helped Leverkusen defeat West Ham.
Leverkusen continued their impressive campaign this season as they beat West Ham 2-0 in the first leg ot the Europa League on Thursday night.
Boniface came on in the 67th and Jonas Hofmann, who came with 13 minutes left, had given Leverkusen the lead on 83 minutes, before the Super Eagles added the second goal on 91 minutes.
It was Boniface’s first goal since returning from a three months injury.
Speaking after the hard-fought win, Alonso singled out the substitutes for the role they played in the win.
“We are happy with the result and the performance,” Alonso said after the match.
“It was not an easy game to create chances in. They played very deep. We waited for our moment, it was a little late but the players from the bench had a big impact tonight.”
The Spaniard said he expects a different approach from West Ham in the return leg next Thursday.
“They will play very differently next week at home,” Alonso added. “They have nothing to lose. We have time to prepare and will be ready to fight for a place in the semi finals.”
Leverkusen have now gone 42 games unbeaten in all competitions this season. Up next for Leverkusen is this weekend’s Bundesliga home game against Werder Bremen.
A win for Leverkusen will see them clinch the Bundesliga title for the first time ever.
They are also in the running for the treble as they can add the Europa League and German Cup to the Bundesliga title.
For the German Cup, they will take on lower division outfit Kaiserslautern on May 5 inside the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Leverkusen will be crowned Bundesliga Champions for the first time in history if they defeat Werder Bremen on Sunday.
