CM: Candidate waits for Milan's call as Furlani-Ibrahimovic relations thaw
CM: Candidate waits for Milan's call as Furlani-Ibrahimovic relations thaw – the situation
AC Milan seemed to be moving towards hiring Fabio Paratici as their new sporting director, but in the last 24 hours everything has changed.
Calciomercato.com speak of 'one step forward and two steps back' for Milan, who had practically closed the deal with Paratici so much so that the club's lawyers had been contact to draft the contract, with exit clauses included.
Advertisement
Those get-out clauses were linked to the Prisma Trial, and ultimately the club's leadership decided to put things on pause. The concerns about limited operability and the reputation aspect had already been raised by a part of the ownership, and thus everything was halted.
Milan have decided to take at least the whole weekend to think things over before starting a real casting for the role of sporting director. Igli Tare is waiting for a call with the knowledge that he is back in the running after two weeks without contact.
He has experience, contacts and is free to start right away, a condition that suits the Diavolo who would like an operational sporting director immediately. Tare is the candidate proposed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a verbal agreement between the two was struck 20 days ago in London.
More Stories / Exclusive
Advertisement
Stars unaligned and changes in management: Milan's strategy to begin a new chapter
21 February 2025, 16:10
A final chance amid replacement uncertainty: The truth about Bonera's fate as Milan Futuro boss
11 February 2025, 12:50
SM: 'A solid deal' – Milan considering 'entire' feasibility of Felix arrival
1 February 2025, 13:40
This choice could strengthen the Swede's position within the new corporate structure, but we begin from the starting point that no candidates favoured over others. Nonetheless, there has been the attempt to smooth over some differences between the CEO Giorgio Furlani and Ibra.
Furlani and Ibrahimovic have spoken at length in recent days regarding many aspects and have tried to resolve the differences of the last two weeks. There are signs of a thaw, and Milan want to continue the philosophy of the working group of which both will be part.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Can Tijjani Reijnders' arrival boost Manchester City's 2025/26 title odds?
For more stories like this, click here to follow The Athletic's sports betting section and have them added to your feed. It's been nine years since Manchester City last found themselves as an afterthought in a league title race. The 2024-25 season was a long, trophy-less season for Pep Guardiola's men. Nothing seemed to go right as injuries, ageing players and sudden drops in form combined to leave the Citizen's 13 points off Liverpool's title-winning tally of 84. Advertisement As long as Guardiola is at the helm, a double-digit gap between his team and pole position will be unacceptable. City started to bridge that gap in January, using the winter window to primarily focus on fixing a leaky defence. It seemed to work as the Citizens allowed the second-fewest expected goals (xG) in the Premier League since the start of 2025, only bested by a defensively solid Arsenal. However, the players targeted by City so far during this summer window are more impactful on the other end of the pitch. AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders has just completed his move to Manchester, while Wolves' attacking left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri and Lyon's midfield maestro Rayan Cherki are poised to follow him. The bookmakers still believe there is much more needed from City to improve their chances of usurping Liverpool as champions of England. Even with the addition of Reijnders, Guardiola's side remain firmly behind Arsenal (5/2) and the Reds (21/10) with odds of just 13/5. So, do the bookmakers know something we don't? Or is City's ongoing overhaul about to provide considerable value? You have to hand it to Guardiola. He watched in horror as his once impenetrable defence got ripped to shreds in the early part of the season, only to sign a 'not-defender' a few months later. That isn't a malfunctioning chart; the Dutch midfielder just isn't all that interested in defending. If you want a deeper dive into what exactly Reijnders does bring to the table, our own Sam Lee has already written a comprehensive tactical breakdown. What we'll focus on here isn't the what of Reijnders but the why. As in, why does Guardiola want to sign not one, but potentially two all-out attacking midfielders — Cherki's radar looks almost identical — after watching his defence struggle to cobble itself back together? Advertisement The answer is simple: City have always won due to their devastating attacking prowess. Last year was the first time in six seasons that the Citizens didn't lead the league in xG. During the 2023-24 season, Liverpool's xG tally topped City by over seven goals (87.8-80.5). This year, that gap nearly doubled as City created only 68.1 xG to Liverpool's 82.2. For a club that once created nearly 23 more expected goals than the next closest side in the 2019-20 season, this decline has caught Guardiola's attention. The need for reinforcements who can turn things around is apparent, and Reijnders' numbers speak for themselves. The irony is that despite all the focus on the new signings, the most intriguing reason to lay money on City's 13/5 title odds is a player who joined the team last summer: Sávio. Michael Imburgio's DAVIES model attempts to capture one of the most difficult aspects of football: measuring the impact of every touch a player takes on his team's ability to score a goal. When analysing the DAVIES rankings of the most impactful players in the league last season, you get a relatively unsurprising list. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah ranks first, followed by Chelsea's Cole Palmer, Newcastle's Alexander Isak and City's Erling Haaland. The fact that Haaland leads City in the DAVIES score isn't very shocking. What does raise an eyebrow is who sits third in the table: Sávio. In nearly every category the model measures — box activity, shooting, final ball dribbles and carries — the Brazilian winger made a significant contribution to the City attack last season. If the number a sophisticated model churns out is too ambiguous for you, there are other advanced metrics that show Sávio might be a future superstar. The 21-year-old is the third-best player in the team in passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes, behind only Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku. Sávio was also second on the team in carries into the penalty area and touches inside the box, once again trailing Doku. Advertisement So, if Doku is leading all these categories, why the excitement for the Brazilian and not the Belgian? It's because Doku often uses mesmeric dribbling to get into dangerous areas only to misplay the final ball. It's why Sávio not only has a much higher DAVIES score — 3.32 to Doku's 1.33 — but also ranked second on the team in shot-creating actions, trailing only De Bruyne. Interestingly, one of the main reasons the 21-year-old likely didn't see more of the action: he couldn't score. While Reijnders scored 15 goals off just 9.9 xG, Sávio only managed a paltry two goals off 6.5 xG last season. Reijnders' additional impact in the final third certainly will add value to City's title odds as well as the contributions of Cherki and Aït-Nouri if they end up in Manchester. But the new faces aren't the reason to be optimistic about the Citizens. It's a familiar face that could supercharge their upcoming season. Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Tijjani Reijnders: Giuseppe Meazza / Getty Images)
Fox Sports
3 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Draisaitl scores in OT, Oilers beat Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final
Associated Press EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — When the Stanley Cup was brought out onto the ice prior to Game 1 of the final, just as it was last year, everything the Edmonton Oilers expressed about this time being different came into focus. 'Last year, I was kind of looking at it with googly eyes,' goaltender Stuart Skinner said. ' This year seeing it, it's: 'I was here last year, I saw it. It's time to get back to work and do my thing.' It definitely felt completely different." The Oilers made the start of the series completely different, erasing a multigoal deficit to beat the defending Florida Panthers 4-3 on Wednesday night on Leon Draisaitl's power play goal in overtime. A year since falling behind three games to none, Edmonton has a lead in the rematch and is one step closer to flipping the script. 'It's huge,' said Skinner, who made some big stops among his 29 saves. 'The way that we showed up right from the get go and the way that we continued to keep on going, even though we were down by two, that shows a lot of character by us.' Draisaitl provided the heroics, scoring on the power play with 31 seconds left in the OT period after Tomas Nosek's penalty for putting the puck over the glass. The goal was his third in overtime this year in the playoffs, tying the record for a single postseason, after Draisaitl had six during the regular season. 'He's invaluable,' said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who set up the tying and winning goals. 'He does so many good things: clutch, faceoffs. You name it, he does it.' For a while, it appeared the Oilers would lose Game 1 this year as well. Draisaitl's goal 1:06 in was followed later in the first period by Sam Bennett deflecting a shot past Skinner after falling into him. Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch unsuccessfully challenged for goaltender interference, with the NHL's situation room ruling that the Oilers' Jake Walman tripped Bennett into Skinner. The resulting penalty paved the way for Florida's Brad Marchand to score the go-ahead goal on a power play. Bennett scored his second of the night early in the second period to put the Panthers up 3-1. They entered 31-0 over the past three playoffs since coach Paul Maurice took over when leading at the first or second intermission. 'I mean, they pushed,' Marchand said. "They obviously are a very good team, and doesn't take much for them to score. So, not surprising, the push they did. They're a great team. We've just got to keep going.' Fourth-liner Viktor Arvidsson brought the crowd back to life early in the second, and fellow Swede Mattias Ekholm — playing in just his second game back from an extended injury absence — tied it with 13:27 remaining in regulation off a perfect pass from McDavid. Florida counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky's made some incredible saves, including one to rob Trent Frederic earlier in overtime. In between, he was greeted with derisive chants of 'Ser-gei! Ser-gei!' that followed goals he allowed. At the other end, Skinner made a handful of saves that were vital to keeping the Panthers from extending their lead or going back ahead late in the third, getting friendlier chants of 'Stuuuu! Stuuuu!" every time he turned aside a difficult shot. 'He was great again,' McDavid said. 'He gave us a chance.' Up next Game 2 is Friday night in Edmonton before the series shifts to Florida for Games 3 and 4. ___ AP NHL playoffs: and recommended
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Official: Juventus make Kalulu move from Milan permanent
Juventus confirm the signing of Pierre Kalulu on a permanent transfer from Milan. Juventus have made Kalulu's move from Milan permanent, the Bianconeri confirmed in a statement on Thursday. Allianz Juventus Stadium (Photo by) 'It's a first birthday in Bianconero for Pierre Kalulu! The French defender turns 25 today, 5 June, 2025, and we say 'first' because after a first season on loan, the club have executed the option to make his move permanent,' the Bianconeri said. Advertisement The Frenchman has signed a contract until June 30, 2029. Figures behind Kalulu's official Juventus transfer TURIN, ITALY – OCTOBER 06: Pierre Kalulu of Juventus reacts during the warm up prior to the Serie A match between Juventus FC and Cagliari Calcio at Allianz Stadium on October 06, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by) Juventus also confirmed the official figures behind the deal: €14.3m payable over three financial years, with ancillary costs totalling up to €300,000 and potential bonuses up to a maximum of €3m depending on the achievement of further performance objectives. Kalulu spent the 2024-25 season on loan at the Allianz Stadium, where he scored one goal in 39 appearances across all competitions. Kalulu to feature in Club World Cup for Juventus Charles De Ketelaere of Atalanta BC is challenged by Pierre Kalulu of Juventus FC during the Serie A match between Atalanta and Juventus at Gewiss Stadium on January 14, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by) Kalulu is a 2021-22 Serie A winner with Milan and played 112 games with the Rossoneri, scoring three goals and providing three assists. Advertisement Kalulu will be part of the Juventus squad playing in the Club World Cup this month. Juventus will face Al Ain, Wydad AC and Manchester City in the group phase. The team will be led by Igor Tudor, who met the new General Manager, Damien Comolli, for the first time on Wednesday.
