Athletic: Why Fonseca is the ‘most compelling compromise’ in Milan’s manager hunt

AC Milan are still believed to be searching for the man they feel should replace Stefano Pioli as head coach, but just like with key business in the past they might just turn to Lille. 

There is chaos and confusion surrounding Milan at the moment, and it has very little to do with the fact that we are in the business end of the season given that there is so little left to fight for.

The last 48-72 hours has seen several reliable sources claim that Milan had unanimously agreed internally that Lopetegui is the right man to take over from Pioli, after a long period of evaluations and some meetings between the parties.

The Basque coach meanwhile was eager to take the job and has rejected West Ham United because he wishes to join the Rossoneri, but once the news emerged a petition against his hiring has reached 8,000 signatures.

James Horncastle has written an interesting piece for The Athletic which is centre around the anti-Lopetegui outpouring that has emerged, and there is a consideration at the end regarding who Milan should actually go for.

“Looking at Serie A this season, Milan should perhaps have acted with more urgency to hire Thiago Motta; a young, naturalised Italian familiar to the league with cutting-edge ideas on the game.

“he notion he is ‘too Interista’ as a member of Mourinho’s treble-winning team in 2010 is a weak one given Trapattoni, a legendary player at Milan, dominated as a coach with Juventus and Inter, a club who, many years later, would hire Conte, a former Juventus captain, to knock down the house he built. Motta, by the same token, is now expected to join Inter’s most bitter rivals, Juventus, in the summer.

“The shine has also been taken off Francesco Farioli’s remarkable season at Nice, after their totally unexpected title challenge faded. Nice are now down to fifth in France’s Ligue 1, but are still six points better off than they were on April 29 last year, when they eventually finished ninth.

“Perhaps they would have sustained their form from the first half of this season if owner INEOS had invested in the team over the winter when its attention was instead taken up by the purchase of a minority stake in Manchester United.

“Milan’s owner, Gerry Cardinale, has a big decision to make. He inherited Pioli, so this is his first appointment. It will not define his ownership, but it is one he will not be able to take back, either.