Moncada on Milan hope, Gimenez argument and Joao Felix idea | OneFootball

Milan director Geoffrey Moncada admits they had to ‘argue’ with Feyenoord to get Santiago Gimenez and leaves the door open for keeping Joao Felix from Chelsea.

The Champions League play-off kicks off at San Siro at 17.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Atalanta vs. Club Brugge on the Liveblog.

The Rossoneri lost the first leg 1-0 in Rotterdam and the pressure is on to turn things around and reach the Round of 16.

It is a sign of how much the January transfer window changed the squad that their available new signings are all in the starting XI.

“We are happy because everyone is here today. We got the first leg wrong, but today we are on home turf and it is the right moment to do something important,” Moncada told Sky Sport Italia

“We need to score at least two goals to go through and we feel confident.”

Milan transformed squad in January

epa11899222 AC Milan’s Joao Felix gestures during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Hellas Verona FC in Milan, Italy, 15 February 2025. EPA-EFE/ROBERTO BREGANI

Gimenez was purchased from Feyenoord in the January window, which was a tricky negotiation process, made even tougher by the fact they already knew that Milan would be their rivals in the Champions League play-off.

“We have known him for many years, we worked with him and his agent before. The Dutch clubs are very hard to sign players from, we always need to argue a little bit,” confessed Moncada.

“He knows their defenders very well and therefore it’s up to him this evening to do his job and score goals.”

Joao Felix arrived on loan from Chelsea, but there are already rumours that Milan are trying to either extend the loan for next season or make it a permanent transfer.

“We were lacking creativity in the squad, so we thought of Joao Felix, who already knew the coach. It also depends on him and us, we’ll see in the summer how things are going,” added Moncada.

“He has brought something different to the squad and we’re very happy with him.”