If the AC Milan management truly believe in Paulo Fonseca then they must prove it with their business in the mercato, a report has claimed.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, the coach let all his frustrations out during his pre-match press conference and his expletive response to one particular question is what is dominating the headlines: “I don’t give a sh*t about the names of the players.”
Translation: Fonseca will not let himself be influenced by the hierarchies established over the years in terms of who are stars and who are not, because he is fed up with the insubordinations. The cooling break incident against Lazio and the penalty saga against Fiorentina has given a bad impression.
Patience is over, Fonseca has made it clear, and tonight Udinese arrive at San Siro hoping to continue their trend as a bogey team for the Rossoneri. A defeat or a bad draw would restart the rumour mill about the coach’s sacking.
Nothing would happen immediately because in three days Club Brugge will arrive for the Champions League group stage game, but Bologna-Milan next Saturday would become almost decisive. A victory with the ousting of the rebels would however strengthen Fonseca, and would make him authoritative.
If his moves prove to be correct, the club should follow up the words of appreciation with actions and move towards a ‘Fonsequista’ January transfer market. The management have always let trust in the coach filter through, for what it’s worth, and from the headquarters only messages of support have come.
What might that mean? Well, the selling of star names would be difficult because getting true value for Rafael Leao and Hernandez in January is almost impossible and the accounts would suffer. Morten Frendrup and Domenico Berardi, the names that are circulating as targets, could arrive.
The writer states that Frendrup is a versatile midfielder and a disciplined guy: at Genoa, he has never said a word or displayed attitude that is out of place. Berardi, although recovering from a bad injury to an Achilles tendon, would ‘put some healthy pressure on Leao, who is too self-confident’.
“Other reinforcements are possible. The important thing is to involve Fonseca. For better or for worse, tonight’s excellent exclusions will define a frontier,” they concluded.
