Boxes ticked, Juventus concerns and talks resumed: How the Motta idea regained momentum at Milan

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SempreMilan

·1 May 2024

Boxes ticked, Juventus concerns and talks resumed: How the Motta idea regained momentum at Milan

The climate of uncertainty and distrust that surrounds AC Milan at the moment can perhaps only be fixed by making the right managerial appointment, which is why Thiago Motta’s name is back in vogue.

What is clear is that Milan are now in the market for a new head coach; a man who can galvanise a talented squad, who can perform better in the moments that matter most and who can unite a club that needs everyone pulling in the same direction to try close the gap to the noisy neighbours Inter.

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News then broke that Milan were set to hire Julen Lopetegui, a coach who has had spells with Porto, Rayo Vallecano, the Spanish national team, Real Madrid and most recently Wolverhampton Wanderers.

There has already been a ‘#NOPEtegui’ campaign on social media, with a petition amassing thousands of signatures from like-minded supporters who believe so strongly that he is not the correct profile for Milan.

The management have seemingly now done a U-turn on what they felt was the correct course of action, something which deserves to be discussed separately and at length, but where do they turn now?

A rock and a hard place

Gerry Cardinale and the leadership at Milan have been left with a lose-lose choice: stick to their guns and hire a manager who appears unpopular, or quickly try and scramble for another profile that there is less internal agreement about.

The owner himself would have in fact asked his management to freeze the talks with Lopetegui which had been going on for some time, as our colleagues at SempreMilan.it write, in order to calm some of the fan sentiment and explore other profiles.

The discontent was also underlined by the Curva Sud’s statement, while there was also the idea of protests in Sunday’s game at San Siro against Genoa to consider. Thus, the three-year contract already proposed and accepted by Lopetegui – but not signed – was put back in the drawer.

The only certainty is that the next Milan coach will not yet be Stefano Pioli. In public the likes of CEO Giorgio Furlani and president Paolo Scaroni are stopping short of declaring that Pioli will stay, meaning the writing is on the wall.

Pioli will therefore leave Milan after nearly five exciting seasons, having absolutely fulfilled the job that he was asked to do but leaving a bit to be desired in the big games towards the end of his tenure, with the recent defeats to Roma and Inter being the final straw.

The Parma-born coach will continue to receive €4m net from Milan until 2025, the year in which his contract expires, but the club would save on that amount if he were to take another job amid rumours that Napoli and Bologna are keen.

A blitz for the box ticker

Where will Milan turn? The Thiago Motta hypothesis – which has always been in the minds of the management and ownership, as we have stressed multiple times – has very much been revived.

Juventus swooped in while Milan were watching Pioli rack up win after win in March, and while there is talk of a verbal agreement between the parties nothing has yet been signed or announced.

The Marcus Thuram saga over the summer shows us that when a door is not shut it can only be considered open, all while Juve grapple with the idea of having to pay Max Allegri and his staff a sizeable amount to leave.

Pre-existing overlap

Adding spice to the matter is the interest that the Rossoneri have shown in Joshua Zirkzee, who continues to showcase his talents under Motta. If Milan were to get themselves into pole position and secure the Dutchman, then it would make the pitch to any prospective manager easier but especially his current coach.

On the other hand, it is no secret that Milan scouts have been observing Bologna in recent weeks, keeping an eye on talents like Lewis Ferguson, Jhon Lucumi and Riccardo Calafiori as per various reports.

What they have learned is that Bologna are a team that plays in a similar way to Milan, but have managed to get the most out of a squad with a significantly lower value, something that certainly acts as a big factor in Motta’s favour.

It is also in the interests of the Reggio-Emilian club to keep the phone line open with Milan because they apparently want to sign Alexis Saelemaekers permanently, who has played 26 times this season for them and has contributed four goals and three assists.

We have already taken a look at how Milan could look under Motta, but what matters above all is the modern, aggressive, attacking style shown by the Rossoblu which created a sort of ‘love at first sight’ effect among the Milan management.

Milan may have to wait for Bologna to qualify for the Champions League before they make their move. They are six points away from securing a spot in Europe’s top club competition for the first time ever, then there will be time to think about the future.

In the meantime, Motta was spotted speaking with Ignazio Abate before Bologna vs. Milan Primavera this afternoon. Was it a catch-up between old friends, or could there have been a deeper meaning knowing they might soon be colleagues? The truth will emerge in the coming weeks.