With one game left to play, AC Milan are top of the Serie A table and are two points ahead of previous Champions Inter Milan. If they are victorious against Sassuolo on Sunday they will win their first Scudetto since the 2010-11 season, ending over a decade of disappointments for their long-suffering fanbase.
Years of poor transfers and lacklustre managerial appointments had hampered their progress but under Stefano Pioli, they have made real progress. The Italian manager has put together a strong team and their recruitment strategy has been spot on.
Over the past few seasons, Milan have signed Theo Hernandez, Fiyako Tomori, Mike Maignan and Rafael Leao just to name a few players and these have all been key players in their push for a league title. And even if they do not secure the Scudetto on Sunday they have made some real progress and will most likely win one over the next few years.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag's challenge at Manchester United is similar to Jose Mourinho's
In some ways, the mismanagement that Milan has suffered over the past decade is very similar to what Manchester United fans have had to endure. The club have had five managers since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson and are set to appoint their sixth with Erik ten Hag and there are too many transfers to list in one article that have failed to have the desired impact.
But Milan's progress and potential success should act as a hopeful tale for United fans. Ten Hag is an excellent manager which his exploits at Ajax have shown.
The Dutch manager has won three league titles with Ajax in four years alongside three domestic trophies. United fans will also remember the Ten Hag's team making a deep run in the Champions League in the 2018/19 season where they, unfortunately, lost out to Tottenham Hotspur in the Semi-Final.
With the right signings and staff appointments in United's backroom, Ten Hag will hopefully be successful at the club. The bar is incredibly low with the club's last trophy coming five years ago and their last league title nearly a decade ago, however, it's still important that the Dutchman is given enough time to fully develop his side.
Rome (or in this case Milan) wasn't built in a day and neither will a successful United team. Mistakes will still likely be made along the way and there may still be disappointing results but hopefully, Ten Hag will be able to develop a team that the fans enjoy watching and at some point in the future they will also be able to add silverware to Old Trafford's trophy cabinet.
Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
