The Rossoneri will start a new course on the bench. Lopetegui’s idea is concrete, while the number 9 will be a U25. Various names for the defense
Team, technical staff, company. In just one evening Gerry Cardinale ordered interventions in all areas of the club. The changes will be profound, the new Milan will be able to be born on new foundations. Gerry has not ruled out anything or anyone: the revolution will touch all the “cardinal” sectors of the club.
trainer
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The first inevitably involves teams and coaches: the market will have a profound impact, the judgment on Pioli is postponed until the end of the season. Victory in the Europa League would give the owners the trophy that is missing in the cabinet: success is Cardinale’s obsession and Pioli could thus satisfy it. On the contrary, the chances of permanence would be decidedly more modest. After almost five years, Milan would change the bench to start a new course: with Conte it would be a clear conversion. In terms of salary, technical demands, tough character and methods. The hypothesis is there. Other choices would be less disruptive: Lopetegui is a concrete idea. In his career he has won only one title: the Europa League (with Sevilla) which is missing from the Rossoneri’s list of successes. For two years he was Spain coach and for four months on the Real Madrid bench. Another profile under observation is that of Thiago Motta: after Genoa, Spezia and the revelation Bologna (fourth in the table, five points behind Milan) it would be his first time in a top club. Not even the Gallardo track should be abandoned today at Al-Ittihad.
market
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The focus on the coach and team is a consequence of the sporting results: the Rossoneri winter continues to be very cold, with lows of -16. Such extreme temperatures, at this point of the season, had not been recorded since 2007-2008 when they reached -18. It is not the environment in which Cardinale intends to build the Milan of the future. To win he needs a new restyling after last summer, when the interventions on the squad seemed to have already been decisive. At the end of the season there will be restructuring again (Cardinal always prefers evolution): two of the senators, Giroud and Kjaer, have their contracts expiring. Even if Olivier decided to stay at Milan for another, he couldn’t be the anchor of the attack: new goals are needed. The turning point will be significant: the next 9 will be an Under 25. Joshua Zirkzee is 22 years old and not only for this reason does he perfectly match the identikit of the next Rossoneri center forward: he knows the championship and here he has shown talent and incisiveness. It is also the reason why the big names in Europe observe, while Bayern Munich always boasts a buying power of 40 million, the base price of the negotiation. A first assist for the Rossoneri is Joshua’s desire for a new Italian experience, his first at a very high level. The same figure would certainly be enough to get Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, 20 years old, three-one and the reference point of Leipzig’s attack in the Bundesliga: 11 goals so far this season. Cardinale, a business man, asks for change to improve and cannot be satisfied with the defense numbers: 32 goals conceded. The central defender is another priority. Maxence Lacroix of Wolfsburg, 23 years old, contract expires in June 2025, is already on the list. Lilian Brassier of Brest, 24 years old and with the same contractual terms, are also among the already known targets. A detail that would facilitate the negotiation. Even more so with Tosin Adarabioyo, 26: he leaves Fulham in the summer. The big names don’t move unless a super offer convinces the club to change position: the lesson Tonali teaches. A rich market could be financed with the sale of one of Maignan, Theo or Leao. Offers are unlikely to arrive for Chukwueze: last summer’s spending, 28 million, did not repay the trust; Okafor didn’t run as fast as he did at Salzburg. However, they are not untransferable. Jovic, another attacking alternative, has his contract expiring and here it is difficult to think of sensational changes: he was useful but never really reliable and the possibility of renewal has receded.
society
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And who knows whether the changes Cardinale talks about also refer to the management structure. Or strictly corporate: RedBird’s number one has officially opened up to the possibility of an oriental partner.