Milan’s search for a senior football executive has returned to Markus Krösche, with the Eintracht Frankfurt director now having left his post and reopened discussions with the Rossoneri. The club want a figure able to work closely with owner Gerry Cardinale while offering day-to-day support to Ruben Amorim, and the coming days could determine whether a pursuit that stalled in the summer finally reaches its conclusion.
Key takeaways
- Markus Krösche has resigned from Eintracht Frankfurt after five years at the club.
- Milan are again in contact with the German executive after failing to appoint him during the summer.
- Krösche remains contracted until 30 June 2028, and his release could cost Milan between €4 million and €5 million.
- The structure of his potential staff, including the sporting-director role, remains under discussion.
- Milan’s January recruitment window would be an early test, with defensive needs also accompanied by concerns in midfield and attack.
Krösche negotiations return to the foreground
Milan began the search for a new leading football figure after Giorgio Furlani and Igli Tare were dismissed in May. Krösche emerged as the principal candidate, but Eintracht Frankfurt’s determination to retain him prevented an agreement from being completed over the summer.
That position changed on Sunday evening when Krösche submitted his resignation. After a board meeting in Frankfurt, he offered an emotional farewell, saying he could only express gratitude for “five extremely exciting years”.
Talks with Milan are now under way again. There is confidence in Germany that the financial terms and the definition of Krösche’s responsibilities in Milan could be settled by the end of the week, although a significant contractual matter still needs to be resolved.
Krösche’s deal with Eintracht runs through to 30 June 2028. Milan may therefore need to compensate the Bundesliga club with a payment estimated at €4 million to €5 million in order to secure his release. The two clubs must still address that point.
A new sporting structure and the January test
The composition of Krösche’s working group is another part of the discussion. Timmo Hardung, his trusted lieutenant and Eintracht’s sporting director, has been considered as a possible member of the new Milan set-up. Frankfurt, however, would prefer to keep Hardung and install him in the position Krösche has vacated.
That would leave Milan needing to identify a sporting director to work alongside their prospective Head of Football. The names under consideration include Tiago Pinto, Bournemouth’s manager and a former Roma executive. Bournemouth are also Milan’s next Europa League opponents. Flamengo’s Boto is another Portuguese candidate being considered.
If the agreement is completed without another late reversal, Milan would hope to give Krösche roughly two months to prepare for January. The reopening of the market would offer an immediate measure of the new structure’s effectiveness, with the squad expected to require attention across several departments. Defence appears to be the clearest priority, though midfield and attack are also areas under review.
Krösche’s appeal rests in part on his record of building value in the transfer market, a quality sought by RedBird. At Eintracht, he signed Randal Kolo Muani from Nantes without a transfer fee before selling him to Paris Saint-Germain for €95 million. Omar Marmoush later joined Manchester City for €75 million, a fee registered entirely as capital gain, while Hugo Ekitiké was sold to Liverpool for almost €100 million.
For Milan, the question is no longer simply whether Krösche fits the profile. It is whether the club can clear the contractual and organisational obstacles quickly enough to put a coherent football department in place before the season’s next decisive market window.
