Moretto: Milan begin building mercato around Lopetegui – the positions and targets

Matteo Moretto has claimed that the AC Milan management are already planning for the summer transfer window with Julen Lopetegui in mind as the next head coach.

There are a growing number of reports suggesting that the leadership at Milan have decided that Lopetegui is the right man to take over from Stefano Pioli as the new head coach ahead of 2024-25, even if there have been protests from fans.

Lopetegui has had spells with Porto, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Wolverhampton and the Spanish national team, having been out of work since leaving Wolves before the start of the season, but it seems large sections of the fanbase are not convinced he is the best fit.

In addition to talking about why Milan decided to focus on Lopetegui, Moretto spoke on the La Fiera del Calcio podcast about what the Rossoneri’s summer window could be with the Basque coach in charge, with his comments relayed by Radio Rossonera.

“The very first name for the attack is that of Joshua Zirkzee, and these weeks they have been insisting a lot with his agent to reach an agreement. From a mercato point of view, I believe that Milan have very clear ideas,” he said.

“Recently I tried to verify some information that had reached me, they told me to check if there could be something between Milan and Javi Guerra of Valencia. It was absolutely denied.

“Milan are looking for a different midfielder, they explained to me that they are looking for a number 6 with different characteristics compared to the midfielders they have in their squad.

“They will aim to strengthen the defence, I believe a central defender will arrive. But that’s the missing player, the positioning number 6 in front of the defence: this is the information I had.

“I believe that there won’t be as many signings as last summer, there won’t be a revolution. There will be few and targeted additions, without sticking to 20 million per player like last summer. They want to invest and will invest, from what I understand.

“Fofana from Monaco also was denied, they told me that he is not the midfielder they want to focus on. In my opinion they are on other profiles, profiles no older than 29 as per the philosophy of the club and the owners, which however remains the same.”