AC Milan Draw Up 7-Man Striker Shortlist as Big Spenders Eye 1 More Marquee Signing

AC Milan have reportedly put together a seven-man shortlist as the big spenders eye a marquee striker signing ahead of the new season.

The sleeping Serie A giants have already splashed a tonne of cash out on bolstering Vincenzo Montella's side this summer, but La Gazzetta dello Sport has claimed that their brazen spending is not over yet.

The Italian newspaper has suggested that I Rossoneri have written up an optimistic striking shortlist and plan to go down their list one by one as they seek one more huge arrival ahead of their season opener against Crotone on 21st August.

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The list is said to include the likes of Borussia Dortmund marksman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, free agent and former Manchester United superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Torino hotshot Andrea Belotti.

The other quartet on Milan's radar are Chelsea outcast Diego Costa, Monaco star Radamel Falcao, Fiorentina forward Nikola Kalinic and, baffingly, some form of striking alter-ego called 'Mister X'. Yeah, we're not sure about that last one either!

Milan have allegedly already begun whittling down their shortlist, with the San Siro-based side ruling Kalinic out as a viable option due to his consistency at the highest level, while they have supposedly baulked at Aubameyang's €60m asking price.

The so-called 'Mister X' is seemingly a codename for a player that Milan do not wish to make public at this present time, while Costa's perceived six-month loan spell with Milan has to-ed and fro-ed as varying reports suggest a deal is either about to be agreed with Chelsea or is about to fail.

Jorge Mendes - the agent of Falcao - has apparently flown into Sardinia to hold tentative talks over a possible switch to Italy's top flight for his client. Mino Raiola, the representative of Ibrahimovic, is also thought to be against allowing his client to move back to the club he spent the 2010/11 season on loan at.

Finally, Torino's Belotti would also see Milan have to shell out a mountain of money to prise him from Turin, with other interested parties reportedly told to stump up bids of around £78m for the in-demand goalscorer.

Milan have so far paid out £160m on 10 new arrivals as Montella looks to overthrow Juventus' dominance of Italian football in recent seasons.