Preferred AC Milan replacement for Gattuso emerges, surprise candidate ruled out

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AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso is currently under intense pressure, with speculation rife over potential replacements being eyed for his job.

The Rossoneri are on a five-game winless run, during which they’ve failed to score in their last four Serie A games for the first time since 1984 and have been eliminated from the Europa League.

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In turn, it’s fair to say that it has been a disastrous month for the club and Gattuso, which unsurprisingly has raised question marks over whether or not he will remain in the job from January onwards.

Various names have been linked with the post, but Calciomercato report that former Juventus and Chelsea boss Antonio Conte remains the preferred option for the hierarchy.

However, their hopes of appointing him any time soon appear to be complicated, as it’s added that he has no intention of taking charge half-way through the season.

That presents a dilemma for Milan if they are indeed seriously considering replacing Gattuso, as they can’t afford to wait until the summer for Conte if they feel it necessary to make a change now to ensure that they qualify for the Champions League.

Milan have slipped off the pace and out of the top four in recent weeks and now sit in sixth place, three points adrift of Lazio, with a whole host of other rivals now closely packed together in the hunt for European spots.

With that in mind, if a change is to be made after Saturday’s clash with SPAL, it’s difficult to see a situation in which they leave it until the summer and wait for Conte.

Arsene Wenger, Roberto Donadoni and Francesco Guidolin are all specifically mentioned in the report as alternative options, but the possibility of seeing sporting director Leonardo return to the bench has reportedly been ruled out by the Brazilian himself.

Milan appear to have a great opportunity to grab fourth place this season. Time will tell if a convincing win over SPAL this weekend is enough to save Gattuso and put off talk of possible replacements.

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