Maldini confirms key renewal is imminent and hints that a defender may not arrive

AC Milan director Paolo Maldini has confirmed that the club have reached an agreement over the extension of Theo Hernandez’s contract.

Stefano Pioli’s side lost against Spezia on Monday in controversial circumstances as referee Marco Serra was the centre of a storm for his decision not to let a late Junior Messias goal stand, and with Inter having won last night the pressure is on to respond well.

You can read our preview here, and the best pre-match stats here and the main player battles here ahead of the latest meeting between Italian football’s biggest and most decorated clubs.

Maldini spoke to DAZN before tonight’s crucial game against Juventus at San Siro about a number of different topics including the mercato and some key renewals, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

On the table: “For us it is an important match, we want to hold on to Inter and we want to keep Juve at a distance, we would be more confident for our qualification for the Champions League.”

On the fight for the title, what is missing? What does the club intend to do?

“In this market we will not have the availability that is needed for a signing like Vlahovic, but even less. Then let’s see at the end of the season. It is true that we are not perfect, but if we think that we played the match against Spezia well enough to win, we would have had 4 wins since the restart of the season. We have a squad deep enough to be able to fight even without reinforcements: it is also an idea of the sports area and not just of ownership.”

Will there be a signing for the defence? How is Theo’s renewal?

“In defense I don’t know, Romangoli and Calabria are back. The emergency is ending and Tomori will be back in about twenty days. Then to sign a new player in and make him settle in and make him have an important impact, taking away space from those who have done well like Gabbia and Kalulu, it takes time and I am not in favour of that idea.

“However, had it been possible to sign an important player for the next 6-7 years it would have been different, but unfortunately it was not possible. Theo Hernandez will extend his contract in the next days. We’ve reached an agreement, it’s just matter of time to meet with his agent and sign all the paperwork.”

There has been a lot of criticism aimed at the San Siro surface, which has clearly felt the affects of having hosted seven games in less than two weeks. During Inter’s 2-1 win over Venezia last night it looked in dire shape, and the worry is that might carry on into tonight’s more showpiece fixture.

On the pitch: “I hope we can lay it again. The idea is to completely redo the field, in 13-14 days it should be ready. Both Inter and Milan are teams that play football well, they need fields of a certain level. It was once disastrous, it was sand, it was sacrilege to the champions we had. The champion is not only the one who has a superior technique but also a vision and adaptability different from the others.”