Former AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi says Stefano Pioli's successor must be Italian.

Pioli is expected to be replaced by Milan at the end of the season.

Sacchi told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Much, if not everything, will depend on the choice of the new coach. If we talk about a young man I say De Zerbi, in terms of experience I suggest Sarri. But something else will count more than the profile, that is, that Milan decide with conviction and defend their choice with strength.

"I advise the fans to have patience. To trust the club and to support Milan as they have always done. You play and win with the collective, and the same goes for the fans: you have to be united with the club.

"The current ownership arrived recently, this was RedBird's second season with the Rossoneri. Milan today is a virtuous club from an economic point of view, with its accounts in order and this must be recognized. The previous ownership, then, working in the same direction as the one that took over, it managed to give the fans a championship that had been expected for eleven years.

"We are talking about a success that came by overcoming teams that had spent more, and in Italy there are at least two or three of them. Milan fans have always been very important but also demanding, they expect to see the team play well and give everything, but in the history of a club there are also moments."