AC Milan need a striker straight away, regardless of Santiago Gimenez’s potential surgery, and Niclas Fullkrug can fill the gap while they wait for real target Dusan Vlahovic in July.

On Saturday, we had confirmed that Fullkrug was proposed to the Rossoneri, as he was pushing to leave West Ham United, and we noted the pros and cons of this operation.

The cons were that his recent performances have been below par, the pros that it’s a cheap loan deal because the striker who proved himself in the Bundesliga is eager to show what he can do.

AC Milan need a striker now and in future

The situation could evolve, because this way Milan could postpone their search for the real new centre-forward until the summer.

Vlahovic is currently out injured, but as the rumours from Spain confirm, their interest in him never really died out.

We had already said in September that Milan would continue to keep a close eye on his situation at Juventus, although any suggestion of a January swoop has to be postponed, seeing as he will be out injured until at least March.

That doesn’t mean they’re not still working on it, hoping the great rapport between Max Allegri and Vlahovic can swing his decision, as they battle to beat the competition to this free agent.

Fiorentina have not yet made any decisions regarding the future of head coach Paolo Vanoli despite the various different rumours that have been circulating following Sunday’s 2-1 loss against Hellas Verona. 

Fiorentina have not made final Vanoli or Giuntoli decisions

It is only natural that after such a poor start and under increasing pressure that changes around the club might be made. The situation is one that could still develop, but as things stand, no major changes are expected before Thursday’s Conference League match against Lausanne. 

There have been rumours on Monday that former Napoli and Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli could be poised to come in and help Fiorentina. 

However, despite some reports hinting that a deal for Giuntoli could be close, Football Italia can confirm that there have been no direct contacts with the former Bianconeri director as yet. 

In terms of  anew sporting director, we are still some way away from there being any sort of breakthrough.

Khephren Thuram is the present and future of Juventus, and has recently received the backing of Giorgio Chiellini, so here is the reasoning behind the recent rumours involving the Frenchman and a possible Bianconeri move for Inter’s Davide Frattesi. 

Where Juventus stand with Thuram and Frattesi

In recent weeks, there had been far-fetched suggestions that Juventus were considering the possibility of a swap deal with Inter that would see Thuram and Frattesi move in opposite directions. Similarly, Milan and Napoli have also been linked with deals involving Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Lorenzo Lucca swapping sides. Both rumours are baseless. 

Focussing on Juventus specifically, Chiellini has recently stressed Thuram’s importance to Luciano Spalletti: “I won’t talk about Frattesi, as that’s a lack of respect towards Inter. What I can say without doubt is that Thuram will remain a Juventus player. He has done really well in the year and a half he’s been with us and we have no intention of letting him go,” he said before kick-off against Bologna on Sunday. 

Thuram has shown that he is capable of being a Juventus player and that he still has plenty of potential to fulfill. He hasn’t had the most impressive of performances in recent weeks, but there’s no doubt that Juventus intend to stick with him for the time being. 

As for Frattesi, Juventus’s interest is a separate matter. Inter are adamant that they will not let the Italy international leave for anything less than €35m, which is less than the fee that had been cited to interested clubs over the summer. 

If Frattesi wants to leave Inter, it is down to his agent to find him the move, which he has failed to do for the last three transfer windows now.

Davide Possanzini is walking on thin ice at Mantova, and Francesco Modesto has emerged as a possible replacement.

Possanzini is once again on the brink at Mantova as the Serie B side’s management is making serious assessments that can lead to the coach’s dismissal.

Surely, the latest defeat against Cesena was not digested as the team had taken a two-goal lead, but then suffered a comeback, eventually losing 3-2.

Mantova directors want to have a proper think on whether to go forward with the current coach, who had already been on the brink a few weeks ago, but then managed to keep his spot.

Now the situation is tricky once again, and there are already some possible candidates to replace Possanzini.

Sources with direct knowledge of the matter exclusively tell me that Francesco Modesto is the leading candidate for the job, but the list also includes Maran and Pagliuca, who are slightly below Modesto.

In the meantime, Possanzini’s future at Mantova is once again uncertain.

Tijjan Noslin’s winning goal for Lazio against Parma could change the striker’s future at the Stadio Olimpico.

Noslin scored a vital goal for Lazio against Parma, allowing the Biancocelesti to secure three points at the Tardini despite being reduced to nine men.

It was the second goal of the season for the Dutchman, but this was truly a massive one because it kept Lazio fairly close to a European spot.

To some extent, what happened was a miracle when thinking about what has happened since last summer, when Noslin had long been considered a potential asset in the transfer market.

However, Lazio then decided to stick with him also because they had been imposed a transfer embargo.

Until a few weeks ago, Noslin’s future at Lazio might have seemed uncertain, with the possibility of a swap deal or a permanent transfer. However, after his goal at Parma and Maurizio Sarri’s post-match words, the scenario could change.