The enthusiasm surrounding the derby victory has restored good spirits and confidence within the Rossoneri camp. The feeling is that this team, with a well-strengthened squad, could be highly competitive in pursuit of the objectives Gerry Cardinale wants to achieve.
The Rossoneri owner, who left San Siro satisfied and moved at the end of the match, made it clear that Milan will be a major player in the upcoming transfer windows:
"We want to be active for a long time: I want to, and will always want to, be active in every transfer window and try to take advantage of every opportunity that arises. As I have said and always repeat publicly, when I took ownership of this club in June 2022, I wanted to bring it back to the top of Italian and European football. We are doing our best, and there will be an announcement shortly."
That announcement will concern the Head of Football position, which will be filled by German executive Markus Krösche.
An agreement has been reached on everything, and the formal steps must now be taken, including payment of the release clause to free him from his existing contract with Eintracht Frankfurt, which should be worth between €3 million and €5 million, writes Tuttosport in this morning's print edition.
Regarding the German director, the Italian newspaper chose the following headline:
"Krösche arrives and immediately seals Gonçalo Inacio deal"
Krösche, who appreciates Ruben Amorim as a coach, will work as a link and a point of discussion between the manager and Cardinale ahead of the January transfer window, when the needs are both numerical and technical. AC Milan will have to bring in a centre-back, with Gonçalo Inacio's name still at the top of their preferences. A right-back is also needed, which could allow Mario Gila to return to the centre of the defence, writes Tuttosport.
An assessment and discussions will take place with Lyon to understand whether there will be an opportunity to bring Athekame back to the Rossoneri in January. However, there are no clauses in the contract allowing Milan to terminate early the straight loan agreement reached in the summer.
The midfield, on the other hand, will be a summer priority, when it becomes clear whether Luka Modric will retire or continue playing. In that case, Bournemouth's Scott and Brighton's Ayari remain on the list, although it is obvious that Krösche will also have other names to put forward.
Adrien Rabiot, meanwhile, is close to signing a contract extension. As we already reported ahead of time, Milan want to finalise the agreement before the end of 2026, extending his contract until at least 30 June 2030, with an option for 2031, and increasing his salary from the current €3.5 million to at least €6.5 million, the same basic salary as Pulisic.
Finally, AC Milan will also look at a striker to add to a forward line currently made up of Gonçalo Ramos and Francesco Camarda. The names of Real Madrid's Endrick and Club Brugge's Nicolò Tresoldi are certainly significant, but the two clubs are unlikely to let them leave. Cardinale, however, has made it clear: he is ready to step in and give Amorim what he needs.
