The academy clues that bring us closer to Milan's next manager [Bonus article]

The rumours regarding the next AC Milan manager are arriving thick and fast, with the latest name being Julen Lopetegui, and the fans are right to feel a bit tired already. The truth is that almost no conclusions can be drawn at this stage, especially when talking about specific names, but there are a few factors that certainly can be considered as clues in the managerial pursuit.

While the search for a new manager is complicated, the future of Stefano Pioli is less so as his tenure at Milan is coming to an end. The manager does have the opportunity to finish on good terms, still in the Europa League and fighting for a top-two finish in the league, but this will likely not change anything. And it certainly makes sense, with it being almost five years since he joined.

But who should be considered the perfect replacement? Or rather, what type of manager are Milan looking for? As already alluded to, there are some clues that can help us understand the managerial pursuit a lot better and, above all, determine which names are realistic and not.

In our opinion, and based on recent whispers, the most telling of these clues is the academy project. Recently, Milan have reaped the rewards of their increased focus on the youth sector and the synergy with Pioli has been an important part of this. The next manager, therefore, will probably be one that is compatible with this way of working.

Milan’s academy is finally gaining momentum

Prior to this recent success, it had been years and years of poor output from Milan’s academy and that was due to several reasons. A lack of funding, cutting-edge technology and an overall vision were some of them, but the crucial streamlining was also missing. When jumping from age class to age class, you don’t want your academy players to be starting over every time. And ideally, that should also be the case when making the step to the first team.

That’s also why the appointment of Ignazio Abate as the Primavera manager was so important. Sure, he’s an ambitious and promising manager, but this is almost secondary to the fact that he had been working with these players for a long time. He started as the U16 manager in 2021 before being promoted to the U19 (Primavera) one year later. As a result of this, he was very familiar with all of the academy players.

He did jump age classes, it should be noted, and this was also somewhat reflected in the league standings. The Rossoneri finished 12th in Abate’s first season with the team, albeit reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Youth League, while they are in third place this season. So what changed? Of course, he had more time to implement his ideas, but he also got to promote some of the players he worked with in the U16 team.