Carlo Pellegatti believes that the appointment of Paulo Fonseca as the new head coach of AC Milan will not be a ‘disaster’, while he also suggested a potential replacement for Mike Maignan.
Pellegatti spoke during an interview for Radio Rossonera and he was asked about the potential replacement for Maignan given the rumours that are circulating suggesting that he could be sold for the right price.
“If Maignan were to leave I would immediately go to Caprile. Di Gregorio. He did very well at Bari last year. I’m not going to get Diogo Costa… again with a Portuguese player, with all the negotiation problems involved, at 45 million euros. There is a good goalkeeping school now in Italy.”
The journalist was questioned on the choices that the management might make with regards to the attacking department, amid the speculation that Serhou Guirassy is now a target the club are negotiating over.
“For a team that has a fairly consolidated attack, but the defence was a disaster. At a defensive level, Fonseca worked quite well in France.
“It must be said that this is a courageous choice, because if they had chosen Conte they would have been fine all year. A choice that causes discussion, divides more than unites. But if things go wrong, the fans don’t get angry with Fonseca.
“Now, however, what matters is not when they will announce it, but the players who will play for him. If you show up next year with Guirassy and Jovic we’ll struggle a bit. Milan have been working on Zirkzee, if they don’t sign him it’s clear there would be some disappointment.
“On Guirassy at 28 there may be the famous Piatek effect which is worrying. The German league is what it is, like Spain. Three top teams playing against much less popular teams. I would take Guirassy tomorrow, but to complete the attack and then I would go to the first name.”
Pellegatti went on to talk about some of the hierarchical confusion that is perceived to exist at Milan, with several members of the management each having their own ideas about how best to move forward.
“One of the issues is to clarify the positions well. They told us that Moncada and Ibra take care of the technical side, Furlani takes care of the administrative part and then Cardinale does the synthesis. It’s a different supply chain from the ones we’re used to, let’s hope it gives us results.
“Do they want to build a stadium and then resell? Even when Elliott arrived it was said that they weren’t interested in anything, but we have undoubtedly made a step forward. Is that enough for us? No, especially because Inter were in front of us this year.
“As for the coach, I hope that they have chosen the best in the world and that we will be first in November. But to be so, you have to help him with the transfer campaign.
“The new coach is as important as the renewal of Lautaro for Oaktree… he makes the intentions clear. I still delude myself that they don’t hire coaches and players just to get to the top four.
“As a coach, I believe that Fonseca gives more guarantees [than Van Bommel]. If we’re talking about gambling, didn’t it help Arsenal when they got Guardiola’s deputy? Why not have the intuition to go for Klopp’s deputy?
“Now he has gone to Salzburg, in a year or two we will certainly see him at Leipzig. Fonseca is a good coach, it won’t be a disaster. It’s clear that if you go for Klopp’s deputy it could be the signing of your life or the mistake that makes you start everything from scratch.”