Gonçalo Ramos will link up with his new Milan team-mates in Australia this evening, with the most expensive signing in the club's history set to begin training almost immediately.
This is the striker Milan built their summer around. Ruben Amorim wanted a centre-forward he trusts to lead the line, and at €70m Ramos is the answer, the biggest fee Milan have ever paid. That price alone tells you the weight he carries. Milan haven't had a settled, reliable number nine since Olivier Giroud left, and a season without goals from the middle is a season that goes nowhere. Ramos is here to fix the one hole that has quietly defined recent campaigns.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ramos is due to land around 20:00 local time, flying Emirates from Dubai to Perth. He won't be travelling alone. Rafael Leão is on the same connection, arriving in the UAE from Rio de Janeiro before the pair continue on to Australia together.
Ramos had already made a surprise visit to Milanello on Monday the 13th, the day the squad reported back for pre-season, dropping in to greet Gerry Cardinale, Amorim and the players while he was in the city hunting for a home. His entourage insists he stayed sharp over the summer by following the fitness programme Amorim's staff sent him, which matters given how quickly he could be needed. On-field work starts tomorrow, and a first appearance could come in the friendly against Inter on August 5, with more minutes to follow against Chelsea in Jakarta.
For a 25-year-old, the CV is heavy. Two Champions League titles, the last four league titles of any campaign he featured in (one at Benfica, three at PSG), plus the Nations League with Portugal. He reached double figures for goals in four straight seasons, 27 in 2022-23 followed by 14, 19 and 12, and did it largely from the bench under Luis Enrique. That is the detail worth holding onto. Those numbers came in a supporting role behind Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé. At Milan he is meant to be the main man, the way he was at Benfica under Rui Costa, and a full season of starts should push those figures higher.
He inherits the No.9 shirt, and with it a problem. Since Filippo Inzaghi, almost nobody in that number has thrived at Milan, Giroud the lone exception. Ramos knows the club's history well enough. Zlatan Ibrahimović, one of his boyhood idols, was part of the pitch to bring him in, though Gazzetta note the deal ultimately came down to timing and the size of the €70m bid.
Off the pitch it has been a whirlwind stretch. Ramos married his long-time partner Margarida Amaral Domingues on Saturday, with João Neves as best man and a guest list that read like the Portugal squad list, before packing for Australia days later.
Milan have spent big and spent it in one place. Whether that money solves the striker question is the story of the entire season, and it starts against Inter.