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Report: Gattuso loses patience with Lozano
Football Italia3 Hours Ago

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Napoli outcast Hirving Lozano was reportedly removed from the training ground by coach Gennaro Gattuso during the preparation for the Coppa Italia Final.

The Partenopei coach is playing for his first trophy as a coach but the Corriere dello Sport focused on the situation regarding Mexican Lozano one day before the big Final against Juventus.

Lozano has been frozen out for several months and the former Milan coach has reportedly decided to exclude the former PSV Eindhoven forward for technical reasons.

The 24-year-old has scored three times in 25 appearances since the Azzurri signed him for €40m last summer and Gattuso has not been impressed by his attitude in training.

The newspaper writes that Lozano lacked concentration during the training session and was removed from the pitch by the tactician.

It’s not the first time Gattuso takes action against a player he finds unprepared, as Allan has tasted the same treatment last February.

Lozano’s future at the San Paolo is highly uncertain with Gattuso at the helm and Carlo Ancelotti could be prepared to offer the Mexican an escape route at Everton.
 
Football Italia

Paqueta-Milenkovic swap?
Football Italia38 Minutes Ago

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Milan are, according to Tuttosport, contemplating offering Lucas Paqueta to get Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic.

The Viola defender has impressed at the Artemio Franchi and rivals are following his situation in Florence.

The 22-year-old has played 25 games in Serie A this term, contributing three goals in the process, and his value has increased significantly since his €5m move from FK Partizan in July 2017.

President Rocco Commisso has not refused to listen to offers for the Serbia international but Tuttosport claims Fiorentina ask €35m for his services.

Rossoneri outcast Paqueta, who came to San Siro for €38m in January 2019, could be offered as makeweight to help lure Milenkovic to Milan.

But the Brazilian’s value might have dropped after having struggled to convince at the Giuseppe Meazza and the 22-year-old has been linked with a move away from the club in recent months.

Paqueta signed a deal until June 2023 when he arrived from Flamengo and the Viola have been linked with the midfielder previously.
 
AC Milan are already making plans for next season, following a campaign that hasn’t lived up to their expectations. The current RB Leipzig director, Ralf Rangnick, is expected to lead the youth revolution at the club.

As reported by Corriere dello Sport (via Milanlive.it), Ivan Gazidis and the German manager discussed which players to keep and sell in their most recent meeting. For example, Gigio Donnarumma’s renewal is a priority.

The same goes for Hakan Calhanoglu, with Rangnick being a fan of the attacking midfielder. The latter’s contract will expire in 2021 and the parties are expected to meet soon to reach an agreement on the renewal.


Theo Hernandez and Ismael Bennacer are two more players that Milan want to keep, as well as captain Alessio Romagnoli. For Lucas Paqueta and Franck Kessie, on the other hand, evaluations will be made based on the offers.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will most likely part ways with the club as between his age and salary request, he doesn’t fit the project. Rangnick is already planning his strategies for the market and want to be ready when he’s announced.
 
Pierre Kalulu has, according to Tuttomercatoweb, signed a five-year deal with Milan and will reportedly start training at Milanello immediately.

The 20-year-old spent the whole day yesterday finalising his move to San Siro from Olympique Lyonnais, where he had yet to take the leap into the first team.

TMW claims Kalulu moves straight away to Milan and will start training to settle with his future teammates but can’t play until next season.

The full-back was preparing to make the senior squad in Ligue 1 this summer but with three other full-backs already in the squad, he decided to look elsewhere and arrives at Milan for a youth development fee.

The outlet writes the two directors Frederic Massara and Paolo Maldini were vital in bringing the youngster to Italy.

As things stand, his path to first-team football will not get any easier, as the right-back will fight with Davide Calabria and Andrea Conti for a place in the side.

In addition, Milan have been linked with PSV Eindhoven captain Denzel Dumfries, who plays in the same position.
 
After upgrading on the left, with the arrival of Theo Hernandez, AC Milan are also looking to fix the right side. Andrea Conti and Davide Calabria have failed to convince and now the Rossoneri need consistency.

At the end of the season, therefore, the look of Milan’s right-hand side could change completely. According to Calciomercato.com, Fiorentina and Bologna are interested in Calabria and his sale would guarantee a full capital gain for the Rossoneri.

It’s more difficult to imagine the sale of Andrea Conti, though, as he currently weighs €12.5m on the balance sheet. Ivan Gazidis doesn’t want to make big losses and this could ‘save’ the former Atalanta man in the end.


However, who will be the starter next season? Milan managed to secure Pierre Kalulu on a free transfer, beating the competition of Sevilla and Bayern Munich. That being said, it’s a move for the future, given that the starlet made zero Ligue 1 appearances.

Instead, Denzel Dumfries has been heavily linked with the Rossoneri, being able to slot right into the starting eleven. PSV have eased their initial demand of €25m and now a decisive meeting with Mino Raiola is needed.
 
Gazzetta- Rangnick-Gazidis meeting, Acmilan denies.

Rangnick is the man chosen by Elliott to lead yet another Rossoneri revolution. Yesterday there was talk of a meeting, which took place in Austria, between the German manager and Ivan Gazidis: according to what reported by the Gazzetta dello Sport, however, Milan would have denied letting it be known that the CEO he never moved from Milan from March to today.

In his words " i have never left milan or italy since the lock down and after. I don't know were these news come from. We are focused on the objective of this season".

The face-to-face, therefore, would not have gone on stage yet, but contacts with the parties have been frequent in recent months.
 
Probable lineup vs. Lecce: Donnarumma; Conti/Calabria, Kjaer, Romagnoli, Theo; Kessie, Bennacer; Castillejo, Bonaventura/Paqueta, Calhanoglu; Rebic
 
Theo: 'I want to stay at Milan'


Milan left-back Theo Hernandez has revealed his intentions of staying at San Siro and thanked the club and director Paolo Maldini for ‘having believed in me’.
Hernandez has been a revelation since his move to Serie A, after admittedly having struggled to settle in Spain.
Hernandez signed a contract until June 2024 when he arrived last summer and has racked up 22 games in Serie A, contributing five goals and three assists.

“After what I achieved at Alaves, this has been my best year ever. I have to say thanks to Milan and Paolo Maldini,” he told Onda Cero.
The former Real Madrid man’s performances have caught the eye of the giants in Europe, and Hernandez admitted that his years in Spain weren’t his best.
“It’s never easy to do well at Real Madrid, let alone emerge or claim a position in a club like that, or even at Atletico Madrid where I grew up.
“I didn’t do so well at Atletico Madrid either.”
The French defender has been targeted by Paris Saint-Germain, but insists he is only focused on the Rossoneri.
“I want to thank to Milan because they had faith in me, Paolo Maldini believed in me and I’m really happy here.
“I am excited to be at Milan and I have decided I want to stay here with the Rossoneri. I have a four-year contract and I’m really happy here.”
When asked if he would like a return to Real one day, he replied: “I only think about Milan now because I’m totally happy to be here.
“I have to continue like this, then later one day, we will see what happens. But today, my head is only focused exclusively on Milan, I would like to play for France too.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived in January and the left-back has praised the veteran and revealed how the Swede spurs them on in training.
“He is fantastic, a very positive teammate,” he added. “Ibra is a person who never wants to lose. When we make a mistake or an error, he always pushes us and demands maximum effort."
 
Rafael Leao will try his best, but it certainly won’t be simple. The youngster’s recent performances have left a lot to be desired and there isn’t much time left to earn himself a starting spot.

As reported by today’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (via MilanNews.it), Leao still has five days to convince Stefano Pioli to field him from start against Lecce. In the 40 minutes he got against Juventus, though, he didn’t exactly help his chances.

Pioli expected a different attitude and had hoped for the Portuguese striker to surprise a tired and anything but irresistible Bianconeri defence. In other words, he isn’t at the top of Pioli’s pecking order, but there is still hope.


If the manager, with the return of Castillejo, should decide to restore the old balance in his 4-2-3-1, placing the Spaniard on the right and Ante Rebic on the opposite side (his ideal position), Leao would play as the centre-forward.

He could thus get another chance, but an effort is needed in training to convince Pioli that this is the right call. Soon, there will be no time left for Leao, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return and cement his spot in the starting eleven once again.
 
The announcement that UEFA have made regarding changes to Financial Fair Play is music to the ears of AC Milan, a journalist has claimed.
Milan have been under the watchful eye of FFP ever since the Chinese ownership from 2017 to 2018, where excessive spending damaged the club’s accounts and led to expulsion from the Europa League this season as a voluntary agreement to wipe the slate clean.
The UEFA Executive Committee met by videoconference this morning and approved some temporary changes to Financial Fair Play system with the aim of reducing the negative economic effects on club budgets following the Coronavirus emergency.
To try to clarify how these changes are articulated and what benefits Milan can draw, MilanNews spoke to Luca Pagni, the Economics Correspondent for newspaper La Repubblica.
What do you think of the changes to the Financial Fair Play that approved UEFA?
“It is a dutiful measure, as an out of the ordinary event has occurred. The clubs have had to face dramatic drops in revenues, in some dramatic cases, which will lead them to have big imbalances,” he began.
“This year becomes a sort of exceptional year of transition and everything is translated by one year, as if the 2020-2021 season were a unique year.
“I quote verbatim: ‘the negative impact of the pandemic is neutralised by averaging the combined deficit of 2020 and 2021, as well as allowing further specific adjustments related to COVID-19’ leaves me perplexed.

“If anything, the impact is limited, not neutralised. Then I hope that in the future they will explain what these further adjustments are.

“As some economists have proposed regarding state public debts and interventions related to the COVID emergency, the debt that is contracted for COVID interventions must be cancelled.

UEFA should do the same in my opinion.
“I give a trivial example pretending that this season will end without an audience: a club has had 6-7 games without takings from the public and that non-collection is removed from the calculation.”

“UEFA is too rigid and bureaucratic, as if it were a custodian of a dogma. On the one hand, the FFP worked at the beginning, on the other, it further increased the gap between those who are rich and have the possibility of making masked ‘self-sponsorships’ and who instead it has less financial resources. If one finds a legislative hole, they have to intervene. Instead, the same rules remain.”

What advantages can Milan have from this temporary reduction of the rules of the FFP?

“Milan, like all clubs, will have a year more to settle the accounts. For the Rossoneri it is good, given that they will close the next balance sheet with a big deficit,” Pagni continued.

“When Milan qualifies for the European competitions, they will have to present before UEFA in Nyon to agree on a Settlement Agreement and doing it with current numbers is a toll.

“If, however, there will be a cost cut in the next season, the Diavolo will therefore be able to present a much better budget and will have the possibility to pitch less restrictive intermediate targets in the return plan to be agreed with UEFA.”
 
AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie has insisted he feels ‘at home’ with the Rossoneri despite speculation over his future at the club.

A number of reports from various outlets over the past few months have suggested that the Ivorian could leave as part of a summer revolution despite the fact he has been a key part of the club’s plans since his 2017 arrival from Atalanta.


Kessie was interviewed by Milan TV about a number of topics including the resumption of the Serie A season, with Milan facing a trip to Lecce on Monday for their first league game since early March.

On the desire to start playing again: “There is a great desire because we had a bad period. It was not easy for us to stay indoors and therefore now we all want to go back to playing,” he said (via MilanNews).

On playing in closed stadiums: “It is not easy to get used to it, but it is a matter of safety and therefore it is right to play like this until there is no longer the risk of getting sick.

“We have to be even stronger in these last few games that are still to be player. We have to give everything to reach our goal.

“We are all close in the standings, we must work and give our best to try to get points in all the matches.”

On the praise of his teammates: “I always put my characteristics at the service of the team and my team-mates. I like it when my teammates speak well of me.”

On Milanello: “I have been here for three years, I feel at home here. I am happy to be here. We must fight and give everything to bring Milan as high as possible.

“It’s my way to be useful to the team. I always try to give my best.”

On the trip to Lecce: “It will be a very complicated game, we play away from home. It will be a complicated game, we will have to give more than what we gave in Turin.”

On daily work: “Training is very important, if you train well during the week you can see it in games. We have to work hard to be ready on a Saturday or Sunday.”

On Gattuso’s victory in the Italian Cup: “I am very happy for him, even for the sad moment he is going through. Fortunately he is now feeling a little joy for winning the cup. I am happy for him.”
 
Milan are ready to go all-in for Dominik Szoboszlai but would like to sign him for less than €25m, reports SportMediaset.

Milan have long been linked with Szoboszlai, who in turn is said to be keen on linking up with Ralf Rangnick at San Siro this summer.

Now, Mediaset’s sports division is claiming the Rossoneri are hopeful of making a deal happen.

A transfer fee seems to be the only stumbling block as RB Salzburg want €25m for the left-sided midfielder.

Although the Diavolo would like to take him for less, they are also wary of breaking negotiations with any unreasonable demands.

Szoboszlai, who does not turn 20 until October, has nine goals and 13 assists for Salzburg this season.
 
All united and compact in Milanello. Including the management despite all the disagreements and underlying discontent. In view of the decisive final rush, Ivan Gazidis wanted to send a message to the team.

Ivan Gazidis, Paolo Maldini, Frederic Massara and Stefano Pioli. All present and gathered yesterday at Milanello. The AC Milan management, despite disagreements, reunited at the training centre around the team in view of the season finale.

As highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport (via milanlive.it), the only chance for the Rossoneri to qualify to European championships is now from the league and it will take full compactness to hit the target, even if it is ‘forced or almost apparent’.


Yesterday there was a forty-minute chat between all the aforementioned parties, and now the entire management will attend the Via del Mare stadium on Monday evening for the first league game after the forced break.

Gazidis’ goal with this move is clear: to keep the environment united and to provide the players with the tranquility necessary for an attempted comeback in Serie A.

This unity has not been a usual sight as Milanello, as the last time the top management was present together at Milanello was about four months ago.

Gazidis spoke in particular with the coach and captain Alessio Romagnoli during this meeting. He reiterated his esteem for the excellent work to Pioli and asked him to reach the objective. With the defender, there were several topics, including the question of player wages.

As pointed out by the Milanese paper, it is time to reset everything and end the season with dignity for Milan, with everything left to be resumed after the season. And the Pierre Kalulu deal, closed by Maldini together with the chief scout Moncada, is proof that everyone, despite everything, is rowing in the same direction in this season finale.
 
All united and compact in Milanello. Including the management despite all the disagreements and underlying discontent. In view of the decisive final rush, Ivan Gazidis wanted to send a message to the team.

Ivan Gazidis, Paolo Maldini, Frederic Massara and Stefano Pioli. All present and gathered yesterday at Milanello. The AC Milan management, despite disagreements, reunited at the training centre around the team in view of the season finale.

As highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport (via milanlive.it), the only chance for the Rossoneri to qualify to European championships is now from the league and it will take full compactness to hit the target, even if it is ‘forced or almost apparent’.


Yesterday there was a forty-minute chat between all the aforementioned parties, and now the entire management will attend the Via del Mare stadium on Monday evening for the first league game after the forced break.

Gazidis’ goal with this move is clear: to keep the environment united and to provide the players with the tranquility necessary for an attempted comeback in Serie A.

This unity has not been a usual sight as Milanello, as the last time the top management was present together at Milanello was about four months ago.

Gazidis spoke in particular with the coach and captain Alessio Romagnoli during this meeting. He reiterated his esteem for the excellent work to Pioli and asked him to reach the objective. With the defender, there were several topics, including the question of player wages.

As pointed out by the Milanese paper, it is time to reset everything and end the season with dignity for Milan, with everything left to be resumed after the season. And the Pierre Kalulu deal, closed by Maldini together with the chief scout Moncada, is proof that everyone, despite everything, is rowing in the same direction in this season finale.
 
From Monday, AC Milan will try to reach the Europa league goal, the last one left in this disappointing season. The top management are with Pioli and the team: yesterday Gazidis reiterated this to the coach, who, in the next two months, will have to work regardless of the rumours regarding his future.

Gazidis tried to calm the environment, confirming the esteem for the coach, but he knows very well that the future is called Rangnick.

As reported by Gazzetta dello Sport (via milannews.it), the agreement with the German has been reached for some time: a three-year contract with a market budget of 75 million euros and half of the income from sales.


However, the time has not yet come for the official announcement, as Milan does not want to disturb Pioli’s work. But as we informed you this morning, in case of an emergency situation, Rangnick could arrive sooner.

Thus, Rangnick can still not operate officially, but he is in constant contact with the chief scout of Milan Geoffrey Moncada and gave his ok on the arrival of Kalulu. He has been in tune with the Milan scouting team for some time now but has to wait before taking over the reins of the sports area.
 
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