Almost exactly a year ago, Juventus parted company with Massimiliano Allegri in highly acrimonious circumstances just two days after winning the Coppa Italia. If recent reports are to be believed, Sergio Conceicao and AC Milan will also go their separate ways after Wednesday’s final against Bologna – no matter the result at the Stadio Olimpico.
Defeat would obviously make the Portuguese’s exit inevitable. Conceicao may have a contract until 2026, but Milan reserve the right to cancel the agreement this summer, which would become something of a formality if the Rossoneri fail to take the edge off a calamitous Serie A campaign by winning a major honour. However, it’s also been claimed that the former Porto boss will resign even if he adds the Coppa Italia to the Supercoppa Italiana he won just days after replacing Paulo Fonseca as coach in January, having been left bitterly frustrated by constant speculation over his future and numerous reports that Allegri, rather coincidentally, is one of the many coaches being considered as his possible successor.
Unsurprisingly, the man himself is keeping his cards very close to his chest, insisting that he will only speak about his future when the time is right, but it seems highly unlikely that Conceicao will still be in the Milan hotseat for the start of next season – especially with a new sporting director on the way.
Indeed, with the Rossoneri sitting eighth in the Serie A standings and almost certain to miss out on Champions League football next season, this is expected to be a summer of sweeping changes at San Siro. Several high-profile loanees are almost certain to leave, but the big fear among the fans is that some of the club’s most valuable assets may also be sold to fund a comprehensive – and expensive – overhaul of a squad that was meant to challenge for the title this year..
Joao Felix’s loan spell at San Siro began brightly. The Chelsea-owned forward scored on his debut, in the Coppa Italia win over Roma on February 5, and that prompted a typically bombastic reaction from Milan advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who went public with the club’s interest in signing Felix on a permanent basis far too quickly.
He has already introduced himself with a magical goal,” the Swede told Sky Sport Italia. “He is a great talent, he has experience, but he is young and can still grow a lot. We looked for a player between midfield and attack for blocked matches, against closed teams and here he can make the difference. He is a player of magic and this is something you either have or you don’t. His quality speaks for itself and we are satisfied. We must now put him in a position to do the best he can.
Unfortunately for Zlatan, Milan and Felix, he hasn’t netted a single goal since. Consequently, one of the biggest serial flops in football history will be on the move again this summer just months after expressing his determination to finally find a proper home for himself in Milan.
It has been argued that Ibrahimovic attaches more importance to profile than performances when it comes to recruiting players – and the loan signing of Kyle Walker adds plenty of credence to the claim. Anyone who watched Walker in action for Manchester City during the first half of the season – or even at last summer’s European Championship – knew full well that the once-great full-back was finished at the highest level.
Milan felt the 34-year-old was a risk worth taking, though, and plenty of people at the club have very nice things to say about Walker’s versatility, professionalism and the value of his leadership qualities. However, he has failed to lock down a regular starting spot, with Alex Jimenez expected to start ahead of him in the Coppa final, and the word is that Milan will only sign the Englishman on a permanent basis if City reduce the option-to-buy in his contract from €5 million (£4.2m/$5.6m) to €3.5m (£2.9m/$3.9m) – which arguably says a lot about where both the player and the club are at right now.
Were it not for Tammy Abraham, Milan probably wouldn’t be in the Coppa Italia final. The on-loan forward is the tournament’s top scorer this season, with four goals, including a double against parent club Roma in the quarter-finals.
However, there’s no guarantee that he’ll start in the final against Bologna as Luka Jovic and Santiago Gimenez, in particular, have been in better form in recent weeks.
Milan could yet end up signing Abraham on a permanent basis. His record of 10 goals from 17 starts in all competitions is not too bad. However, Abraham is believed to be on €6m (£5m/$6.7m) per annum at Roma and there’s little chance of Milan paying such a salary to an injury-prone player.
At this point in time, a reunion with former Roma boss Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce looks a far more likely outcome for the 27-year-old striker.
Fikayo Tomori looked certain to leave Milan for Juventus or Tottenham during the winter window, as it was painfully obvious during the first half of the season that former boss Fonseca didn’t have much faith in one of the foundations of the 2021-22 title triumph. Tomori insisted in February, though, that he never had any intention of leaving.
“I feel good here, I feel at home,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “In these four years I have won two trophies, and we could have won more. But now we have a stronger team, I feel good here. As long as they don’t tell me to leave, I am happy here
It was probably only the change of coach that kept Tomori at San Siro, though, as Conceicao holds the Englishman in much higher esteem than Fonseca, and the centre-half should start Wednesday’s game at the Olimpico despite being forced to come off against Bologna in Serie A on Friday with a head injury.
Nonetheless, the 27-year-old is still expected to be sold this summer, as Milan look to take advantage of the fact that there is still plenty of interest in Tomori’s services from the Premier League and use the money raised to rebuild a backline that has been breached far too regularly and far too easily this season.
Losing Gigi Donnarumma to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer hit Milan incredibly hard, but Mike Maignan helped seriously soften the blow. The €15m signing from Lille was absolutely sensational in his first season at San Siro, one of the main reasons why Milan won Serie A.
It would be pushing it to say that Maignan has since suffered a dramatic dip in form. It’s more that he’s struggled to quite hit the same heights as his stunning 2021-22 campaign – and that’s led to more and more rumours that Milan might let the goalkeeper leave for the right price.
The priority remains tying Maignan down to a new contract, as he’s set to become a free agent next year, but the two parties have yet to agree terms.
A compromise over the size of his salary is still expected to be reached but, as is the case with the other ‘senators’ in the San Siro dressing room (Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez), Maignan would find it difficult to reject a move to a club offering not only more money than Milan, but also Champions League football, making this another situation to keep a close eye on
According to The Telegraph, Manchester City have made Tijjani Reijnders one of their top transfer targets this summer – which is deeply worrying news for Milan fans. The Dutchman represents the Rossoneri’s beating heart, a multi-talented midfielder who has played in more games than anyone else at the club this season (51), and scored more goals (15) than all of his team-mates bar Christian Pulisic (17).
“I truly believe he’s on the right path [to becoming one of the best players in the world],” Milan legend Frank Rijkaard told La Gazzetta dello Sport earlier this season. “I really like his way of playing. He can cover every role in the middle of the pitch and he’s really generous too. He never stops running for the team and always gives everything his all.
With the quality he has, he is really good at creating dangerous chances for his team-mates and always starts moves well. He’s becoming more and more important for Milan as time goes by.”
Encouragingly, Reijnders’ only recently signed a contract extension until 2030, but that is unlikely to put the supporters’ minds at rest. Remember, Milan found Newcastle’s €70m (£58m/$78m) bid for Sandro Tonali too good to turn down; the suspicion is that a slightly bigger offer could convince the Italians to let his successor leave too.
Theo Hernandez’s future at San Siro is very much up in the air. The France international has a well-earned reputation as one of the most dynamic full-backs in world football. but his form this season has fluctuated wildly.
It obviously didn’t help that he repeatedly clashed with Fonseca during the Portuguese’s ill-fated spell in charge, but the former Roma boss was already long gone when Hernandez effectively cost Milan a place in the Champions League last 16 by stupidly getting himself sent off for simulation in the second leg of their play-off clash with Feyenoord.
After that sorry episode, it appeared as if the Rossoneri had lost patience with a curious character prone to serious lapses in concentration and errors in judgement. However, Milan are presently trying to convince Theo, whose form has improved of late, to sign an extension – although reportedly without offering him a pay rise, which is apparently why the negotiations are dragging on so much.
In such circumstances, it’s hardly surprising that the 27-year-old is being linked with a return to Real Madrid, with incoming coach Xabi Alonso said to be looking for an attack-minded full-back to play on the left-hand side of his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation. Certainly, if Los Blancos were to make a big bid for Hernandez, Milan would give it serious consideration as we’re talking about a player with just over year left on his current deal.
Just how good is Rafael Leao? It’s a little hard to know. His talent is obvious, it always has been. As a teenager at Sporting CP, they said he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo at the same age.
Leao was also outstanding during AC Milan’s surprise Scudetto success in 2022 – and, back then, he looked set to attain superstar status. However, while he’s carried the Rossoneri on several occasions since, he too often flatters to deceive for a supposed world-class performer.
This season has been a case in point. Leao’s in double figures for both goals (12) and assists (11), and yet he’s regularly underwhelmed, resulting in him starting some games on the bench.
As it stands, he seems unlikely to leave this summer, as his contract runs until 2028 and his buy-out clause is €175m (£147m/$195m). Nonetheless, there’s a feeling around Milan that if one of the many elite clubs that reportedly believe themselves capable of helping Leao belatedly realise his full potential (Barcelona, Chelsea and Arsenal) actually made a serious offer for the winger, the Rossoneri would consider cashing in on their most valuable asset as it would generate a colossal amount of money to improve the overall strength of the squad
