AC Milan chief Moncada explains Fonseca hiring; backing Leao benching

Fonseca has impressed this season, although Milan continue to struggle with inconsistency.

He told MilanNews.it: “Paulo has a football style that we think Milan should have.

“We play in San Siro, we have to control the game and the ball. We must be solid in these matters. Paulo is a good worker, he has interesting training and works both individually and with the collective.

“For example, I have seen him take four or five midfielders after a regular session and do specific work with them. It's only November, I'm sure we'll see many players have made huge progress with him by the end of the season.”

Moncada says he also backed Fonseca when he benched Rafael Leao earlier this month.

“We work together every day, we support him and now I think Leao is a completely different player. Just look at his performances against Real Madrid, in Cagliari and on international duty with Portugal.

“These situations can happen, no one is perfect all the time. We have to accept that players have difficult moments and support them as I and Zlatan Ibrahimovic did with Rafa, by giving support and constructive criticism. We are a family.”

He continued about Leao: “I remember seeing him playing for Sporting Lisbon against Belenenses, I think he was 17 years old. He played as number 10, a support striker, but had a lot of freedom and an interesting profile. He was tall, agile, had super technique and scored a goal with this incredible sense of confidence.

“Obviously a lot of other scouts have seen him too. I certainly wasn't the first, but if you go to see an Under 17 match in Portugal and see a boy like that… write down his name.”