AC Milan manager Paulo Fonseca has hailed Theo Hernandez as “the best full-back in the world” as tensions between the two thawed.
The French defender has been in the news a lot this season. Hernandez is arguably in the midst of his worst campaign at the San Siro and has been described as the weak link on the AC Milan side by the Italian media in recent weeks.
At the same time, however, the Rossoneri have been in contract negotiations with the 27-year-old, who is only tied to the club until 2026. Nevertheless, doubts have crept into the club bosses because of his performance.
Indeed, it has been claimed that Milan could extend his contract and then offload Hernandez in 2025, with some claiming that even a sale in January cannot be ruled out.
This has given rise to fierce transfer speculation, with Man Utd and Bayern Munich having an interest in the France international. In fact, the former sees him as one of their top left-back targets now that they seem to be missing out on Alphonso Davies.
One of the reasons why the media has been so quick to speculate about Hernandez’s future is his tense relationship with new Milan boss Paulo Fonseca.
Hernandez was recently dropped and also made headlines earlier in the season when he, along with Rafael Leao, ignored Fonseca as he gathered his players for a team chat after being benched.
However, Fonseca has now tried to break the ice ahead of Milan’s clash with Hellas Verona. “Theo’s situation is easy to explain. He has played a lot, he has been in the national team, but he has not found his best physical shape now, he has to renew his condition to recover, he said.
“Theo is a very important player for us, there is never a penalty, but simply to get him back in the best condition we know how. To me, he’s the best full-back in the world.”
While this is unlikely to affect Hernandez’s future in the long term, it could be the start of a rapprochement between Fonseca and the player, and this could be bad news for Manchester United.
Transfermarkt believes Theo Hernandez is worth €50 million, which is not a sum that would tempt AC Milan to sell.
