GdS: ‘The derby and goodbye’ – 13 players at risk as Milan plot major clear-out | OneFootball

For many players in the AC Milan squad, the chance to win the Coppa Italia remains the last real objective before saying goodbye.

As this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports, over the summer many things at Milanello will change and the ‘new Milan’ will be more Italian. Not only in a key role such as that of sporting director, but also with the head coach and in the squad.

The will is to try and move on fully from what has happened in recent months. It has been an incredibly disappointing season with failures across the board in almost every major objective, and yet one remains: the cup.

Conceiçao not giving up

The disappointment, evident in his words after the defeat against Napoli, had disappeared from the mind of the Portuguese coach yesterday, who is keen to finish the season in the best possible way. He is certainly showing the professionalism that everyone recognises in him despite the results obtained.

Conceiçao knows the world of football and, beyond the little time he has had to coach the team due to the many close commitments, he knows that in the league and in the Champions League the group has not done its duty. The logical consequence in these cases is the change of coach.

Sergio would like the defensive errors that have conditioned his adventure with the Rossoneri to disappear definitively as of tomorrow evening. He expressed this hope when speaking with Ibrahimovic and Moncada, who were present at Milanello yesterday afternoon.

He will reiterate it in the dressing room in these hours preceding the fourth derby of the season. If, as is almost certain, he will say goodbye to the Rossoneri at the end of the season, he does not want to have any regrets.

Big changes coming

The choices on the 2025-26 squad will be influenced by the new coach, who of course will be chosen by the incoming sporting director, whomever that might be.

Theo Hernandez’s adventure with the Rossoneri seems to be coming to an end both because the negotiations for the renewal of the contract expiring in 2026 have not been going on for a few weeks and because the Frenchman’s performance is very different from the past.

An offer will be needed from a team that is appreciated by the former Real Madrid man and considered appropriate by the club, but at the moment the signs point to a farewell.

Joao Felix (on loan from Chelsea), Tammy Abraham (on loan from Roma) and Riccardo Sottil (on loan from Fiorentina) also have their bags packed. Luka Jovic and Alessandro Florenzi’s contracts are expiring and will not be renewed.

Emerson Royal, who could have left Milanello in January after Kyle Walker’s arrival, did not convince and can leave. The Englishman will most likely be bought from Manchester City. Fikayo Tomori said no to Juve in the winter window, but an offer from the Premier League could make him change his mind.

It will also likely be the end of the road for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Samuel Chukwueze and Filippo Terracciano. Mike Maignan and Rafael Leao are in the balance: for them it will depend on the offers that arrive and on the new coach.

Who will remain? Certainly Tijjani Reijnders and Christian Pulisic, but also Santiago Gimenez, Youssouf Fofana, Strahinja Pavlovic, Alex Jimenez, Warren Bondo, Matteo Gabbia and Malick Thiaw plus the youngsters. Yunus Musah can also stay.