Sky journalist gives latest on Milan’s manager hunt: 'A phase of deep reflection'

Sky journalist Peppe Di Stefano has given the latest updates on AC Milan’s pursuit of a new head coach, confirming that Julen Lopetegui has now been crossed off the list.

News broke over the weekend that Milan were set to hire Julen Lopetegui, a coach who has had spells with Porto, Rayo Vallecano, the Spanish national team, Real Madrid and most recently Wolverhampton Wanderers.

This was met by a ‘#NOPEtegui’ campaign on social media, with a petition amassing thousands of signatures from people who are against his potential arrival.

The management have seemingly now done a U-turn on what they felt was the correct course of action, something which deserves to be discussed separately and at length, but where do they turn now?

Di Stefano spoke outside Milanello this afternoon and focused mainly on the process of hiring a new manager, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

“It is a phase of deep reflection, the choice of the new coach cannot be wrong because they have to replace a coach who, at the net of all the criticism received, he has brought great results in these 4 and a half years,” he said.

“In addition to making the most of many players, Pioli brought Milan back to the Champions League, won a Scudetto, reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. There were also some negative notes such as the six derbies lost in a row, but I think the balance tips more towards the positive aspects than the negative ones.

“If Milan has decided to change they cannot afford to hire a coach who does not try to improve this Milan both in terms of results and performances. The reflections have been going on for months, the contacts with some coaches – in particular Lopetegui – start from afar.

“Moncada spoke with several coaches and the one who had gone through the most steps was Lopetegui. The Spaniard was considered by the Milan leaders as an almost normal choice and for this reason it was somewhat shocked by the fans, the reaction and the protests.