Paulo Fonseca is already working with the AC Milan management on potential signings and he has indicated the centre-back that he wants, a report claims.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports that Milan could go back in for Lilian Brassier of Brest, a defender that was extensively linked during the January window when the club were going through an injury crisis at the back.
With a contract expiring in June 2025, the feeling is that he could leave Brest for €10-12m this summer, not much for a player who was a big part of a team that secured a Champions League spot against the odds.
The Frenchman was Milan’s number one target in the first part of January, when Stefano Pioli was sure he would get a centre-back to strengthen the rearguard. Brassier would have willingly come to Italy but the negotiation went cold and Pioli only got Gabbia, who returned from Villarreal.
Paulo Fonseca, who will be the next head coach Milan, has just lost the race for the Champions League (direct qualification at least, Lille still make the qualification phase) against Brassier’s Brest. He saw the 24-year-old up close and liked what he saw.
It’s natural that he spoke about him with Milan, but in the meantime there is competition from Bologna and Wolfsburg, with the Bundesliga side being the ones who are currently leading the race.
What might hurt Milan in all of this is that their priority at the moment is to sign a striker before then evaluating the remaining budget for other roles, but Brassier would no doubt jump at the chance to follow Fonseca to Italy.
You mean Moncada and Gerry both stick their fingers up Fonseca’s bum like a puppet he is hired to be and point to Brassier.
Thank you Gabbia for holding together our defensive line for this second part of the season but now you can take a well earned rest on the bench. Indefinitely.
Cause we’re getting a supper dupper funky fresh, all star Ligue one, cheap cause of expiring contract, re-sale potential IMPROVEMENT for our backline.
We’re cooking allright!
Someone posted in the comments yesterday a Youtube video of Paulo Fonseca explaining that his job is to follow the instructions of the club and that, at Lille, the instructions were to play young players. Meaning buying cheap and raising their value to sell them later. I think he didn’t even interview with our idiots, they probably just saw that video of him and decided he’s the perfect shepherd for our kids.
In other news, Oaktree promoted Beppe Marotta to the role of president and Sergio Conceicao is heading to Marseille…
I’ve been saying the same ever since Fonseca was chosen to be our new coach. A yes mean. He elevated the value of Lille team by elevating the value of young prospects like Yorro, Diakite, Gomes.
And that’s what they expect he’ll do here with all the moneyball signings. Play attractive football, try to bring the best out of our re-sale assets and elevate team value. Gerry gave Moncada his wet dream job – making our club his talent exhibition show while Gerry makes re-sale money of them.
Which makes me think that Pioli really wasn’t the yes man we all thought. It seems he was not really the center of our new project last summer like media and everyone was saying while pointing to the bad guy Maldini who didn’t consider Pioli’s suggestions on transfers.
How can playing attractive football be a bad thing? I mean which teams loose while playing attractive football?
Just ask Carlo Ancelotti, who is criticised for his efficient but boring football. Or Didier Deschamps, who is criticised for the same thing. The first one has 5 Champions League, the second one went twice in World Cup finals in four years. They actually have a similar style of Pioli, with Vinicius or Mbappé isolated on the left. But they both have good midfielders.
Since when is attractive football guarantee for effective football and results?
The Ancelotti story is a bit of a complicated one. In 9 years with what was probably the best Milan squad ever he won only 1 scudetto and went to 3 CL finals, winning 2. Not bad in the CL, but not as good as his record with Madrid, and actually not that good in Serie A. He didn’t do great with Everton or Napoli. Why? Two reasons: 1. Carlo is a “man manager”, not a tactician. He is th type of coach that will get a team full of stars to play together as opposed to getting a young squad or average squad to raise their level through a system of play. 2. He’s a cup manager. Carlo thrives in knockout competitions. His sides do better in the sprint than the marathon (the comparison to Deschamps also fits here). He’s won a few league titles with Madrid lately, but I’d argue that has more to do with the lack of competition in LA Liga these days, with Barcelona in turmoil and Atletico having dropped down a notch or two. I’m not saying Carlo isn’t a great coach, he is and will go down in history as one of the best, but he’s got a particular management style that is suited for top sides only and knockout competitions. That’s why I’m keen to see him in charge of Italy. If he were to come to Milan now, for example, we’d still struggle to mount a title challenge.
I guess we will never be able to compare Deschamps and Ancelotti with Fonseca as I can’t believe that a top national team or top European clubs would say one day « it’s boring to win so let’s develop young players and hire Fonseca. » Maybe Don Carlo or Dédé will coach in the almighty Ukrainian league one day so we can assess that.
“Carlo is a “man manager”, not a tactician.”
Ignorance is BLISS innit? lmfao
I think that Pioli had to sht his mouth still, the previous management wanted to get rid of him last summer so it was either M&M or him. He probably said amen to the new management to keep his job. This is why he didn’t say anything when they sold Tonali or recruited donkeys. At some point he still insisted to keep Krunic. He probably has a clause of non-disclosure or non-denigration in his contract so he’s not saying anything right now, or maybe he’s just a class act, which I can believe. We said last summer he would be the next scapegoat in line. Everything is obvious with that ownership but some people still refuse to see what’s happening. Steal your watch and tell you what time it is I guess.
he can be all the yes man he wants as long as he wins.
Don’t be mean
We are more like ac Genoa than ac milan
You mean ac monza? Lol
Something like that