‘Conceicao tries’ – crucial meeting with Porto awaits as coach wants Milan move

AC Milan seem to have picked the man that they want to be their next head coach in Sergio Conceiçao, and a report has claimed that he will try to free himself from Porto.

As this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport writes how the choice of the next head coach is one of the most complicated and delicate decisions in Milan’s recent history. The fans put pressure on the club, who after the Julen Lopetegui saga evaluated several candidates.

Conceiçao and Paulo Fonseca are the favourites that have emerged in the last few days, although in this (re)exploratory phase there have also been contacts with the Portugal coach Roberto Martinez, with Mark van Bommel and with Maurizio Sarri, who at the moment does not seem to convince.

Milan want to decide without anxiety, calmly, arriving at the official communication of the chosen one in the second half of May, perhaps at the end of the season, when Stefano Pioli will have been given his farewell.

The paper claims that fans have always wanted Antonio Conte, but he is not convincing a club that is looking for a different mould, and now they are calling for Thiago Motta, who Milan like a lot but there are other clubs in the running.

Sergio selected

Conceiçao and Fonseca therefore return to being the main names, with an update: Conceiçao, inevitably, gains points with the protest of the Curva.

Milan Zone, a Twitter account, proposed a poll yesterday: who would you prefer between the two Portuguese? Result as of last night: 95% Conceiçao, 5% Fonseca.

It may not be the thermometer of all the fans, but it is indicative. If on the one hand the club cannot be guided by the fans, on the other it is clear that such clear opinions have weighed on Lopetegui and could also weigh on Fonseca.

From Zurich to Milan

Conceiçao follows everything from a distance with interest. Yesterday he went to Zurich, where his son Rodrigo plays and he will return to Porto in the late afternoon and therefore his meeting with André Villas Boas, Porto’s new president, is postponed.

The two will have to talk to each other because Conceiçao signed a contract renewal until 2028 with former president Pinto da Costa a few days ago, who was then defeated by Villas Boas in the elections.

With the change at the helm of the club, Conceiçao feels free to look around, armed with a clause that would allow him to leave. And Milan, for him, would be a very welcome destination.