Top Man Utd target hailed as ‘best in the world’

AC Milan boss Paulo Fonseca has hailed Theo Hernandez as ‘the best full-back in the world’ as tensions between the two thaw.

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 in the AC Milan side by 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. Yet due to his performances, doubts have crept into the thinking of club bosses.

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Indeed, it has been asserted that Milan could extend his contract and then offload Hernandez in 2025, with some claiming that even a January move can’t be ruled out.

This has given rise to rampant transfer speculation, with Man Utd and Bayern Munich holding an interest in the France international. In fact, the former view him as one of their top left-back targets now that they look set to miss out on Alphonso Davies.

Hernandez closer to Milan stay?

One of the reasons why the media has been so quick to speculate about the future of Hernandez is his tense relationship with new Milan boss Paulo Fonseca.

Hernandez was recently dropped and also made headlines earlier in the season when he, alongside Rafael Leao, ignored Fonseca when he gathered his players for a team talk after being benched.

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However, Fonseca has now sought 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 hasn’t found his best physical condition now, he needs to renew his condition to be well,” he said.

“Theo is a very important player for us, it is never a punishment but simply to get him back into the best condition we know how. For me, he is the best full-back in the world.”

While this is unlikely to influence Hernandez’s future in the long-term, it could be the start of a rapprochement between Fonseca and the player, and this might be bad news for Man Utd.