It was a long time coming, but, on Monday morning, AC Milan decided enough was enough and sacked Vincenzo Montella.
The former Fiorentina manager struggled to get a team of newly acquired players to gel in time to be competitive by Christmas, and the Serie A side have now appointed Gennaro Gattuso to steady the ship until the end of the season.
However, the plan isn’t for the former defensive midfielder to carry on beyond the current campaign, and a big name replacement is already being wooed: Antonio Conte.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that, for the 157th time, the Chelsea manager is linked with a return to his home country, seeing as the 48-year-old himself has hinted a few times his time in England could probably be short… although he’s also done the opposite.
Furthermore, the stories about Conte leaving Stamford Bridge at the end of the season refuse to go away, so a move to one of the more reputable clubs in Italy certainly wouldn’t be something to turn down if nothing else was available.
In fact, Corriere dello Sport state that feelers have already been sent via intermediaries over the past few weeks, and the Chelsea head coach is ready to listen.
AC Milan’s board know they will have to make themselves convincing, and there’s every chance Conte could receive full autonomy within the club to shape it as he sees fit, as ‘first rumours’ suggest he doesn’t see the current squad as competitive enough.
There’s also the problem of FFP, with UEFA’s decision to either accept a “voluntary agreement” proposed by the Serie A outlet or impose a “settlement agreement” (likely to involve restrictions) key in convincing Conte to come.
If the former is given the green light, then AC Milan would be free to spend willy-nilly as long as they can prove money is also coming in and they’ll break even over three years, while the latter would mean the club would struggle to provide their new manager with the necessary funds to make the squad more competitive.
Basically, UEFA’s verdict means either “Conte or no Conte” for the Italian club.
