De Zerbi idea re-emerges as Milan have second thoughts on Lopetegui

AC Milan have been forced to look into alternative candidates after the vocal response following the rumours that Julen Lopetegui was about to be hired as the head coach, and Roberto De Zerbi is reportedly among them.

According to what is being reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Milan leadership had made their choice: they were ready to welcome Lopetegui as the man to take over from Stefano Pioli and launch a new era.

Meanwhile, Lopetegui himself was ready to sign a three-year contract worth around €4m net per season, which is essentially the amount guaranteed to Pioli after his post-Scudetto renewal.

However, things then ground to a bit of a half because the Milan fans reacted badly to the news. There was a rather vocal and collective disapproval regarding the idea of hiring Lopetegui, with some fans even starting a petition to block his arrival.

Now Milan and more specifically owner Gerry Cardinale has a rather tricky decision to make. He must either proceed with Lopetegui who got the approval of the entire management but risk invoking the wrath of supporters, or have second thoughts.

In the case of the latter, the paper writes that Milan could turn to a solution like Roberto De Zerbi or reconsider Paulo Fonseca, the main alternatives to Lopetegui in recent days.