AC Milan to give Conte €150m war chest but with one big player to be sacrificed

Antonio Conte is expected to have a big budget at his disposal if he joins AC Milan but one big player should leave to finance the summer mercato.

At the end of the season AC Milan and Stefano Pioli will part ways after five seasons together. Regardless if Gerry Cardinale decides to sell the club or ends up staying, the Italian coach will pay the price for a very underwhelming season that saw Milan out of the Champions League from the group stage and never in the race for the Scudetto title.

One of the main candidates to succeed Stefano Pioli at AC Milan is Antonio Conte. The renown Italian coach has decided to return on the bench following his latest spell at Tottenham Hotspur and would prefer to manage in Italy. Earlier reports claimed he has already reached an agreement with the Rossoneri over a three-year contract while journalist Andrea Longoni reports that Conte and Milan are set to make a final decision within March.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is heavily invested on this front pushing to convince Antonio Conte to join AC Milan and Gerry Cardinale to fulfill the demands of the Italian coach. As it is widely expected Conte would like to bring 3 or 4 important players with him but he is convinced that Milan don’t need an overhaul but just specific signings and will improve the level of the squad and challenge Inter in Serie A.

Journalist Nicolo Schira reports that Antonio Conte has asked a transfer budget of €150 million to spend this summer on the market. It is a very high figure for Italian clubs but it is still close to want the Rossoneri spent last summer to bring numerous players at San Siro. The plan of AC Milan for the next mercato is similar and it involves again the sacrifice of a key player just like they did last year when Sandro Tonali was sold to Newcastle for a record fee.

A decision on who will be sacrificed this time has already been made asks Schira. AC Milan are willing to let go one between Theo Hernandez and Mike Maignan this summer in case a proper offer arrives. Both players have contracts with the Rossoneri until 2026 and no progress has been made on their renewals. The repeal of “Decreto Crescita” has made the situation worse for clubs who now have to pay higher taxes on the wages of foreign players.

Bayern Munich and Premier League clubs are following with great interest the situation of both players. Bayern in particular are trying to find the successor of Manuel Neuer and Alphonso Davies. AC Milan want at least €80 million for both Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez. At the same time the Rossoneri hope to collect a fee of around €40 million from the sale of De Ketelaer, Saelemaekers and a couple of other players.

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