Tag: Paulo Fonseca

AC Milan boss Fonseca puts Musah transfer rumors to rest

The midfielder was strongly linked with a move to Lyon last week

Yunus Musah’s name has been involved in transfer rumors of late, but AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca is adamant that the American is going nowhere.

Last week, Foot Mercato reported that Lyon was in talks with Milan over a transfer for the midfielder, who was valued at €22 million.

Musah had an up-and-down debut campaign with Milan last term, shifting in and out of the lineup while playing a variety of positions.

Stefano Pioli left his position as Milan head coach at the end of the season, with Fonseca coming in from Lille as his replacement.

Fonseca has led Milan to wins over Manchester City and Real Madrid to kick off the team’s U.S. tour. After Musah played 25 minutes in Wednesday’s win over Madrid in Chicago, Fonseca made it clear that he envisions the 21-year-old staying for his sophomore campaign with Milan.

“I’m 200% sure he’s the kind of player for our game. He showed [against Real Madrid] in 30 minutes, it was amazing with just a few days of working with us,” Fonseca said to Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I’m very confident with him. I believe he can be very important for our team. But of course, he must improve many things, but my opinion? He has the right characteristics to play in this position in our game.”

Milan will close out its tour of the U.S. with a game against Barcelona in Baltimore on Tuesday.

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AC Milan coach Fonseca says Pulisic can play as No. 10

The USMNT star should have more opportunities to play as a No. 10 this upcoming season

Even with a new coach, Christian Pulisic should have more opportunities to play as a No. 10 this upcoming season at AC Milan.

Pulisic had a sensational debut campaign with the Rossoneri last season, playing mostly as a right winger. But head coach Stefano Pioli would occasionally give the American chances to play as an attacking playmaker, which he used to great effect.

Pioli was dismissed at the end of the season, with Paulo Fonseca brought in from Lille to take over as head coach.

Speaking to the media in New York ahead of Milan’s preseason U.S. tour, Fonseca said that Pulisic would again have the chance to play in the middle in the 2024-25 campaign.

“I don’t know if in our structure we can speak about a No. 10, but [Pulisic] can play in that position,” Fonseca said. “We have other players who can play, [Ruben Loftus-Cheek] can play in that position.

“But yes, Christian has characteristics to play in this part of the pitch.”

The Portuguese boss was also full of praise for Pulisic’s debut campaign, which saw the U.S. men’s national team star score a career-best 15 goals in all competitions.

“It’s not easy for a foreigner to arrive in their first year and perform like Christian did because it’s difficult for a player like him to find space in Italy,” Fonseca said. “So if he did so well in the first year, I believe he can do better in the second year.”

Pulisic was given a 10-minute cameo on Saturday night as Milan defeated Manchester City 3-2 in a friendly at Yankee Stadium.

Milan will face Real Madrid in Chicago and Barcelona in Baltimore to close out its tour of America.

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