Atalanta tell Milan D’Amico won’t leave | OneFootball

Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi insists Milan-linked Tony D’Amico won’t leave the Nerazzurri: ‘I have great trust in him, and he’s happy to stay.’

D’Amico recently emerged as one of the Milan candidates for the sporting director role, but the Italian executive is contracted with Atalanta, and La Dea is unwilling to let him go.

Atalanta organised a press conference on Wednesday to unveil a new partnership with New Balance, during which Percassi confirmed that D’Amico would not be leaving Bergamo.

D’Amico set to snub Milan for Atalanta stay

“Yes, he is a fundamental sporting director, and he’ll have the enormous task of creating a competitive Atalanta,” he said via Calciomercato.com.

“I have great trust in him, and he’s happy to stay. We have a great season ahead, and we must remain focused.”

Milan had reached an agreement with Fabio Paratici earlier this month, but dropped the ex-Juventus executive due to legal matters.

VERONA, ITALY – MARCH 17: Giorgio Furlani CEO of AC Milan interacts with Zlatan Ibrahimovic during the Serie A TIM match between Hellas Verona FC and AC Milan at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on March 17, 2024 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani has been tasked with identifying a new sporting director for the next season and has met Igli Tare on multiple occasions.

Bologna’s Giovanni Sartori and Napoli’s Giovanni Manna are also on Milan’s shortlist, but, just like D’Amico, they are unlikely to leave their clubs at the end of the season.

The latest report from Gazzetta dello Sport claimed Milan could even decide not to hire a new sporting director for next season if they don’t find a candidate that suits Furlani and the club.

Are Milan still looking for a sporting director?

Milan chief Geoffrey Moncada, however, recently insisted that the Rossoneri would still be looking for a new sporting director for the next campaign.

“We always talk about scoring goals, but performances are also important. We got many games wrong, and we can do more. We have a structure, we have Milan, and people work hard,” he said before a Serie A game with Venezia last Sunday.

“We think about hiring a sporting director to develop the club and take it to the next level, but our current structure is already important.”