Milan turn to ex-Chelsea, Liverpool and Atalanta executive for sporting director role

Former Liverpool, Chelsea and Atalanta executive Lee Congerton is now the frontrunner for the vacant sporting director role with Milan according to various outlets in Italy on Sunday morning. 

Milan have been looking to appoint a new sporting director for most of the 2025 calendar year. 

The Rossoneri had been close to an agreement with Fabio Paratici before seeing that move fall through due to legal complications. Igli Tare, formerly of Lazio, Tony D’Amico, currently with Atalanta, Bologna’s Giovanni Sartori and Napoli’s Giovanni Manna are among the other names to be linked with the job. 

However, with no official agreements with any of their previous candidates, Milan have now trend their attention in the direction of Congerton, who has been working as sporting director for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli for the last 14 months. 

According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport and others, Congerton is now the ‘frontrunner’ for the Milan sporting director role. The Pink Paper adds that the Rossoneri still have altre soluzioni options to evaluate and that a final decision is expected to be made soon after the close of the 2024-25 season. 

Who is Milan-linked Lee Congerton? 

Congerton began his career as an executive with Wrexham, serving as youth team director before going on to join the coaching gruppo at Liverpool in 2002 under Gerard Houllier. He has also worked as a youth team coach under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, before being appointed as chief scout at Stamford Bridge. 

The Welshman followed former Chelsea sporting director Frank Arnesen to Hamburger SV in 2011, where he went on to identify and sign current Inter star Hakan Calhanoglu. 

Congerton has also worked for various other clubs across the UK, including as a sporting director for Sunderland, as chief scout for Celtic and again in the same role for Leicester City between 2019 and 2022. 

The 51-year-old also has experience working in Serie A from his two years as director of football with Atalanta between 2022 and 2024. Reigning African Player of the Year Ademola Lookman is among the players he is credited with having signed in Bergamo. 

Most recently, Congerton has worked for Saudi Pro League side and recent AFC Champions winners Al-Ahli, where he is credited with having signed star players in Galeno and Ivan Toney.