AC Milan have not had the best of starts to their new era, and Paulo Sousa’s name has been mentioned as a potential emergency solution if results do not improve.
As Calciomercato.com write, there have been some rumours floating around – albeit not from very trustworthy sources – that Sousa could arrive to take Paulo Fonseca’s plan in the event that Milan collapse against Venezia, Liverpool and Inter in the next three games.
Despite the usual denials, there is no doubting that Fonseca must engineer a turnaround in results and the Champions League game plus the derby are certainly good starting points, but what if it doesn’t come?
What is certain is that, in the event of a possible change in head coach, the hypothesis that leads to the return of Stefano Pioli is absolutely not viable despite him having contract with Milan that runs until June 2025.
Daniele Bonera is not a far-fetched solution, even if the will of the club is not to touch the hierarchies of the Milan Futuro project which they have invested a lot of time and money into, with stability being important especially in year one.
What about Sousa? He too ticks a lot of boxes like Fonseca does. He is good at working with young players, he does not demand too much from those above him and he has a style of play that he wishes to implement.
Sousa himself in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport in recent days highlighted how it was not easy for Fonseca to take up Pioli’s legacy, underlining however the Portuguese coach’s ability to adapt to different environments and managing star players.
“Paulo has always adapted to every type of place, from Shakhtar to Roma. The mercato was excellent, so he will fight until the end for the Scudetto,” he said. It was an endorsement of what Geoffrey Moncada and Giorgio Furlani achieved in the summer window.
It might also seem like a public expression of a desire to coach a team of Milan’s level, but Sousa is currently working at Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Football Club. He would not remain insensitive to a possible call from Milan, yet we are not close to that point yet.