AC Milan Praise Boss Gennaro Gattuso After Being Linked With Premier League Manager

AC Milan have spoken of their appreciation for manager Gennaro Gattuso after being linked with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.

Gattuso has won two of his six league games in charge since taking over Vincenzo Montella, but the Rossoneri still sit mid table despite spending almost £180m in the summer. 

Chelsea manager Conte has been linked with the Milan job, but according to Football Italia the club are behind the 40-year-old.

A statement on the club's website said: "Milan’s main objective is to keep improving and growing. The work that awaits Rino Gattuso is still in its most significant phase, and the objective of the Coach, staff and squad is to combine it with our imminent deadlines on three fronts."

It continued, saying: "Certainly, there’s great appreciation from the club for the amount of work that Rino Gattuso does every day, both on and off the pitch, and also for his footballing ideas.” 

A report had claimed Current Milan boss Gattuso needed to reach a cup final and finish sixth to "hold off the ghost of Conte", who has endured a somewhat frustrating second season in England.

Chelsea boss Conte has previously been linked with Milan's city rivals Inter before they hired Luciano Spalletti. The Blues manager has enjoyed great success in Serie A, winning three straight league titles with Juventus between 2012 and 2014 before resigning and enjoying further success with the national team.

Milan were expected to return to prominence after their big spending summer, having not played Champions League football since 2013/14.