Repubblica: How Pioli’s move could help Milan in their Zirkzee pursuit | OneFootball

AC Milan might just have received a rather surprise assist in their pursuit of Joshua Zirkzee by Stefano Pioli, according to a report.

The reason? La Repubblica (via Calciomercato.com) explains that Pioli’s choice to accept the Al Ittihad job in Saudi Arabia – where he will replace Marcelo Gallardo – means Milan will not have to pay the last year of his deal.

Getting rid of the expense of Pioli’s remaining 12 months and that of his staff should save the club around €10m gross which could be automatically allocated to the transfer budget. The main target remains Zirkzee, with the €15m Kia Joorabchian commissions holding up the deal.

An injection of money that was initially unforeseen could change the Rossoneri’s position. With Pioli in Saudi Arabia, the club only have Paulo Fonseca on the payroll, who has signed a three-year contract worth €2.5m net per season for the first two years, with a salary of over €3m in the third year.

Kia was in Milan yesterday, but there has been no confirmation regarding a meeting with Milan. However, if there were some movement regarding the signing-on bonuses then things could move quickly given the willingness to pay the clause and the verbal agreement over terms.