Dodi Lukebakio: The Winger Milan Almost Signed
There was a moment, not so long ago, when Dodi Lukebakio looked destined to wear the red and black of AC Milan, not tear through it.
On Wednesday night at San Siro, he chose the other script.
The winger Milan almost signed
Rewind to August 2025. Milan were juggling multiple dossiers, trying to reshape their squad. Adrien Rabiot was on the table in talks with Marseille. Another name had quietly entered the discussion: Dodi Lukebakio.
The then-management, led by Igli Tare, made their move. An enquiry, some initial contacts, the usual dance. Lukebakio was fresh off an 11-goal season with Sevilla in Spain, his stock rising, his profile ticking almost every box for a club searching for thrust on the flanks.
The context was clear. Conrad Harder had slipped through their fingers. Samuel Chukwueze was already packing for Fulham. Milan needed a winger who could arrive ready-made, not a project. Lukebakio, quick and slippery, looked the part.
It never went beyond that. Talks cooled. Priorities shifted. Milan chose another road.
From missed target to tormentor
Lukebakio chose his. He left Spain and, in early September, signed for Benfica for around €25m, committing to a five-year contract with a €50m release clause. A statement deal, a bet on a player entering his peak.
On Wednesday, that decision came back into sharp focus under the San Siro floodlights.
Davide Bartesaghi discovered exactly what Milan had walked away from. Lukebakio’s profile reads like a scouting report built for nights like this: natural left-footer, explosive over short distances, comfortable starting wide and then drifting infield, always hunting that far-post angle.
That is precisely how he struck. Wide on the flank, he drifted inside, picked his spot and fired. The kind of goal that looks predictable on paper and yet, when it arrives, still feels unstoppable. The kind of action Milan once considered buying, and instead had to defend.
Bartesaghi saw it up close. Perhaps a bit too close.
A career built on movement
At 28, Lukebakio has already lived the life of a footballing nomad. Belgium, England, Germany, Spain, now Portugal. Different leagues, different demands, same instincts.
He has already hit double figures in a single season for Hertha Berlin, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Sevilla. Not one-off flashes, but a pattern. Give him minutes, give him space, and the numbers follow.
The Belgian national team have long since taken note. Thirty-three caps, six goals, and a role that continues to grow as he matures and refines his decision-making in the final third.
Now he is in Lisbon, wrapped in Benfica red, with a platform that suits his ambitions and his style. A league where wide forwards thrive, a club that expects its attackers to decide games, not just decorate them.
He has the contract, the stage, and the responsibility. The question almost asks itself.
He has already done it in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Seville. Can he make Benfica the next stop where double figures are not a dream, but a minimum?
