Italian giants AC Milan are set to target Markus Krosche to take over as their Head of Football after his exit from Eintracht Frankfurt.

According to Football Italia, the Rossoneri are seriously considering hiring Krosche and are close to an agreement for the former Frankfurt boss.

The 46-year-old German sports executive recently cut ties with Frankfurt after a successful five-year stint with them.

He has established himself as one of European football's most astute talent identifiers across landmark stints at both RB Leipzig and Frankfurt.

Who is Markus Krosche? AC Milan's reported target for Head of Football

Following an extended search that originally began during the summer window, Milan owner Gerry Cardinale and executive directors are closing in on appointing Krosche.

Krosche is a former professional midfielder who spent the bulk of his playing career with SC Paderborn, where he holds the record for the most appearances in the club's history.

He had a brief stint working as a coach at the club after his retirement and also served as an assistant to Roger Schmidt at Bayer Leverkusen between 2015 and 2017.

Krosche returned to Paderborn in 2017, this time to serve as managing director, and helped the club to gain back-to-back promotions and reach Bundesliga from the third tier.

His success with Paderborn caught the attention of RB Leipzig, who snapped him up as their sporting director in 2019, before he left for Frankfurt two years later.

At Frankfurt, he succeeded Fredi Bobic, orchestrating a UEFA Europa League triumph and qualifying the German club for the Champions League through disciplined, data-driven recruitment.

Markus Krosche's best signings and biggest transfer sales

Krosche's primary strength lies in his ability to identify undervalued talent, recruit players for minimal capital or free transfers, and subsequently oversee massive resales to elite European sides.

It is no surprise, therefore, that his last two clubs have been identified as Europe's best-selling clubs and have been involved in some of the most profitable deals in recent football history. Some of his prominent deals include:

  • Randal Kolo Muani: Joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer from Nantes and was later sold to Paris Saint-Germain for €95 million.
  • Hugo Ekitike: Acquired from PSG for €31 million before being resold to Liverpool for a massive €95m package.
  • Josko Gvardiol: Signed for RB Leipzig from Dinamo Zagreb for €36 million, later sold to Manchester City for €90 million.
  • Omar Marmoush: Recruited by Frankfurt on a free transfer from Wolfsburg, eventually resold to Manchester City for €75 million.
  • Christopher Nkunku: Signed for Leipzig for €19.5 million from PSG and resold to Chelsea for €60 million.
  • Dani Olmo: Brought to Leipzig for €34 million and resold to Barcelona for €61 million.
  • Willian Pacho: Recruited for €13.5 million from Royal Antwerp before being sold to PSG for €40 million.

Milan brought in Ruben Amorim as their manager in the summer, stepping away from the norm of appointing an Italian coach with previous Serie A experience.

The appointment paid off, as they have remained unbeaten so far in the league, and look to be a possible title contender this season.

According to Florian Plettenberg, the Rossoneri may need to pay between €5-7 million to sign Krosche from Frankfurt due to a release clause in his contract with the Bundesliga outfit.