Sergio Conceicao will reportedly meet with Porto president Andre Villas-Boas on Thursday as AC Milan continue to be linked with appointing him as Stefano Pioli’s successor.
Speculation is rife that the Rossoneri will replace Pioli this summer, as after an underwhelming and disappointing campaign, there is a sense that fresh energy and ideas are needed at the club moving forward.
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No official announcement has been made to confirm the club’s intention as of yet, but as rumours continue to link various names with replacing the Italian tactician, it seems to be merely a matter of time before a significant change is made.
One candidate who has gathered momentum as the days and weeks have passed is Conceicao, and it appears as though Thursday will be crucial to determining whether or not he could take a step closer to becoming the next Milan boss.
As per La Gazzetta dello Sport, Conceicao will meet with Villas-Boas on Thursday, and it’s suggested that it will be with the intention of ending his stint in charge at Porto, and thus to open the door for a new challenge with us.
Milan will no doubt monitor the situation closely as if the outcome is different to the one expected, the club will have to move quickly to identify another preferred option and press ahead with their appointment – if the decision to replace Pioli has indeed been made.
Having won 10 trophies during his seven years at the helm at Porto, the 49-year-old Portuguese tactician has built up plenty of experience and a winning mentality in his coaching career to deserve recognition as a potential Milan coach, both domestically in the Portuguese top flight and in the Champions League.
According to GdS, Paulo Fonseca remains in the picture, and so time will tell who Milan land on this summer to lead us into a new cycle and hopefully a tenure of success.
It’s a decision that the club hierarchy can’t afford to get wrong as significant improvement and development is needed given the regression we’ve seen under Pioli, and if it doesn’t work out, we could have an even bigger gap to bridge to become competitive in the long run.
Given that the reports linking us with Conceicao have gradually built up and the consensus seemingly is that he’s Milan top target right now, it will be interesting to see over the next day or two if he takes a big step towards making himself available for the job, or if another favourite emerges.