Il Mattino: ‘Napoli-Milan, battle for Conte’ – Rossoneri plan meeting with entourage | OneFootball

Napoli are once again concretely exploring the idea of hiring Antonio Conte, a report claims, but AC Milan are set to meet with his entourage in the coming days.

According to Il Mattino, Napoli are no longer hesitant about the idea of appointing Conte but they now face the task of convincing him to join, something that will not be easy if other clubs come into the equation.

The approaches from Aurelio De Laurentiis in October and January were rejected with great grace by Conte with the promise that they would talk again towards the end of the season. Now, the Napoli president will meet Conte in person to see if anything has changed.

Napoli want a coach who restores ambition and excitement, while Conte’s financial demands are much lower than in recent times: he asks for between €4-5m net per season, obviously plus bonuses linked to results and some image rights.

There are many other issues on the table, those linked to the project itself. You don’t hire someone like Conte just with promises, nice words and so on: he wants guarantees about being able to bring in players he wants without much interference.

More Stories / Exclusive

SM Exclusive: Milan launch €12m verbal bid for Lille defender who is pushing for exit

24 April 2024, 18:20

SM Exclusive: Milan hold talks with Atalanta over Scalvini – how the deal could work

9 April 2024, 19:19

SM Exclusive: Milan in talks with Celtic talent over deal with player keen – the details

28 March 2024, 21:00

In the background there is the Stefano Pioli hypothesis for the Azzurri. He will leave Milan at the end of the season and will ask for severance pay from the Rossoneri. If he gets it, he will be released and can join another club, otherwise he will take a year off and will be paid his €4m salary.

The paper also states that Conte’s people will meet with Milan too in the coming days, because the management wish to explore whether the former Juventus and Inter boss might be the right man to lead the new post-Pioli era.