Milan plays its trump card in the transfer market: a top executive arrives to keep Amorim happy
Milan is speeding up the process of hiring Markus Krosche, who is set to become the Rossoneri’s new Head of Football. According to reports in *Corriere della Sera*, contacts between President Gerry Cardinale and the German executive have intensified in recent hours, and a deal is reportedly just around the corner.
Milan had also sought to sign Markus Krosche last summer: he requested and obtained the termination of his contract with Eintracht Frankfurt and is eager to move to Italy to begin his new adventure in Milan.
Krosche will bring some of his trusted associates to Milan and will focus primarily on sports management and transfer strategies, working in close collaboration with head coach Ruben Amorim, with whom he will maintain constant contact. Among his responsibilities will be identifying players who fit the Portuguese coach’s style of play, with a focus on young talent.
Born in Hanover on September 17, 1980, Krösche has a background as both a player and a coach. A defensive midfielder, he spent most of his career at Paderborn, where he became a club legend with over 350 appearances, also contributing to the team’s historic promotion to the Bundesliga before retiring in 2014. After retiring as a player, he coached Paderborn’s youth teams and served as assistant coach at Bayer Leverkusen under Roger Schmidt, before returning to Paderborn as head of sports operations: under his leadership, the club rose from the third division to the Bundesliga in just a few years. In 2019, he was recruited by RB Leipzig, where, as sporting director, he helped build a competitive roster in Germany and Europe, playing a key role in transfers involving players such as Dominik Szoboszlai, Josko Gvardiol, Mohamed Simakan, and Benjamin Henrichs.
In the summer of 2021, he joined Eintracht Frankfurt, where he orchestrated several transfers that enabled the club to remain competitive in the Bundesliga and in Europe. His philosophy—based on developing young talent, financial sustainability, and the ability to generate capital gains without compromising the team’s performance—is what reportedly convinced the Rossoneri management, which had long been seeking a figure with international experience and expertise in both squad building and business management. Krösche also holds a degree in business administration.
As early as June, his name had been circulating as a possible CEO of football in a new organizational structure with Timmo Hardung as his deputy. For Krösche, the first test will be the January transfer window, with several deals already in the works. In defense, partly due to Matteo Gabbia’s injury, the main target remains Gonçalo Inácio of Sporting; a deal worth around 40 million was already set up in the summer and strongly backed by Amorim, while the possibility of Lisandro Martinez from Manchester United has also emerged. Up front, Milan is eyeing Nicolò Tresoldi of Club Brugge but faces competition from Arsenal, while on the right wing, the club is considering bringing Zachary Athekame back early from his loan at Lyon.
