AC Milan continue to think about Stefano Pioli’s successor, a journalist has claimed, and at the moment it is Antonio Conte that leads the way.
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Pioli might have eased some of the calls to immediately sack him after the recent victories against Sassuolo in the league and Cagliari in the Coppa Italia, however there are still widespread reports suggesting he will not be head coach heading into 2024-25.
Sportitalia director Michele Criscitiello has always been adamant that Conte is a serious option to replace Pioli, and now he has provided an update on the situation in a video on the channel which was posted on X.
He claims that the only coach that Milan are thinking about to replace Pioli is Conte, who has of course coached both of the Rossoneri’s biggest rivals Juventus and Inter in the past decade.
Conte is seen as potentially the only realistic option as Roberto De Zerbi does not seem to want to leave Brighton while there is a perceived risk with Thiago Motta making a big step up from Bologna.
“Milan must close a cycle, which was beautiful. Pioli won a Scudetto, he gave you a semi-final in the Champions League, he achieved some objectives. He was an interim, he proved to be a winner,” Criscitiello said.
“Applause to Stefano Pioli. The cycles in football they end, especially for the coaches. Pioli gave 200%. De Zerbi? Too late. Thiago Motta leaves me with some doubts.
On Conte, he added: “Does he want to return to Milan? Yes. Does he regret leaving Inter? Probably yes, but Conte lives in Turin and has now made a life choice. Today he would open the doors to Milan.
“Inter and Juventus, despite all the political and economic problems they have had, have a winning mentality. Inzaghi has proven to be a great winner and Allegri… you can like him or not but he’s a winner. And this year they’re playing for the Scudetto. Milan must try with Conte.”
#𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨: “𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝐜’𝐞̀ 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨 𝐮𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝐞𝐝 𝐞̀ 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞”🔴⚫️
Il direttore @MCriscitiello, ha trattato il tema della panchina in bilico per Stefano #Pioli, Antonio #Conte il solo nome per il futuro. pic.twitter.com/FSa86WtxMU
— Sportitalia (@tvdellosport) January 3, 2024
