Stefano Pioli remains confident Milan can agree contract extensions to keep Hakan Calhanoglu and Gianluigi Donnarumma at the club.
Both goalkeeper Donnarumma and midfielder Calhanoglu – two influential players in helping Milan sit top of Serie A – have expiring deals, along with talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Technical director Paolo Maldini recently said Milan hope to reach terms to retain the trio beyond the current campaign, with head coach Pioli wanting them to stay as they build for the future.
"The important thing is that both the club and the technical group have already had their say in a convincing way," Pioli said of contract negotiations ahead of Saturday's trip to Spezia.
"We are happy to be able to continue the journey together and the boys are also very determined.
"We all want to do well, the club is building something important and we are all focused on doing the best."
5 - This is only the second campaign that 5+ sides have picked up 40+ points in the first 21 games played in a single Serie A season, after 2017/18. Balance.#SerieA pic.twitter.com/pANvTdweX2
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 11, 2021
Donnarumma has played in 20 of 21 league games under Pioli this season. The 21-year-old boasts a save percentage of 73.33 in Serie A – only Lazio's Pepe Reina (73.68) has managed better out of all the goalkeepers to feature at least 10 times in the competition.
Calhanoglu, meanwhile, has a league-leading eight assists despite missing three games after testing positive for coronavirus. Indeed, since the beginning of December, he has set up seven goals in Serie A, the joint-most in the top five European Leagues, along with Kingsley Coman at Bayern Munich.
The Turkey international will be back in the team to face Spezia as Milan aim to avoid a first league loss on the road since December 22, 2019.
"Calhanoglu will start, either (Ante) Rebic or (Rafael) Leao will play on the left," Pioli said on Friday. "We will see what will happen – we want to get to the end of the season without regrets.
"We have ample room for improvement, we must raise our level because expectations are now high."
Planning for the future #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/xNyosB3pF6
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 11, 2021
Pioli received praise from Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis for his work this week, with the pair united in their aim to help the Rossoneri become a dominant force again, both domestically and in Europe.
"We are in tune and his statements have made me very happy, our relationship with time has grown," Pioli said of the comments made by Gazidis.
"With the club we are going in the same direction and we have only one goal, to bring Milan back up. There have never been divisions and we must continue like this."
