Former Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has ended the uncertainty surrounding his expected nomination as the new coach of AC Milan.
“It’s going fine, within two weeks I will be the new Rossoneri coach,” Mihajlovic is reported as saying by Sportsmediaset while the Serbian attended the 24 hours of Le Mans race.
Former Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi remains coach of the embattled Serie A giants, who will not compete in Europe next season after finishing down in midtable alongside city rivals Inter.
However Mihajlovic’s statement appears to have spelled the end for Inzaghi, who failed to lift the club out of the gloom after taking over from former team-mate Clarence Seedorf last season.
The seven-time European champions’ president, Silvio Berlusconi, is working alongside Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol towards welcoming a possible 48 % investment in the club.
If the deal is confirmed, it could provide a huge shot in the arm to a club that has slipped spectacularly since Berlusconi sold a number of top stars at the same time as a number of ageing players left the San Siro in the summer of 2012.
Last week Bee refuted unconfirmed reports that he opposed the hiring of Mihajlovic, who steered Sampdoria to a seventh-place finish in Serie A and to the brink of qualification for the Europa League.
Samp’s seventh-place finish would normally have ruled them out of contention for the Europa League, but the club are hoping to earn the third and last spot in Serie A because city rivals Genoa failed to obtain a UEFA licence.
Genoa’s Luigi Ferraris stadium does not comply with UEFA regulations and although Sampdoria share the ground, the club have lodged Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium as the venue for Europa League home games.
However a final decision has yet to be made.