AC Milan will reportedly sign Gennaro Gattuso to a contract renewal on Thursday afternoon, extending his stay as coach until 2021.
The 40-year-old was appointed as Vincenzo Montella’s successor in November, and has undoubtedly had a positive impact on the bench thus far.
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A 10-game unbeaten run in Serie A lifted them back into the top-four race, while they will take on Juventus in the Coppa Italia final next month.
In turn, there have been plenty of positives, but doubts will still remain for some given that Gattuso has fallen short in big games against Arsenal, Juventus and Inter in recent weeks.
A lack of quality in depth in the current squad could also be blamed for that as Milan have played a lot of games this season already having had to also deal with Europa League qualifiers at the start of the campaign, and so perhaps that is also catching up with them.
Despite the disappointment of recent results though, La Gazzetta dello Sport claim that Gattuso will sign a new contract which runs until 2021 on Thursday afternoon, as he’s expected at Casa Milan to put pen to paper.
It could be argued that Milan should have waited until the summer to reflect on the season as a whole and Gattuso’s influence since being appointed, at which point they could all work together in the summer transfer market if he is deemed to be the right man for the job.
However, it seems as though CEO Marco Fassone and sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli are already convinced, and will take the necessary steps to prolong Gattuso’s stay at the San Siro as coach, having already established himself as a club icon during his playing days.
Should he sign as expected, the focus will have to quickly switch to Sassuolo on Sunday as the Rossoneri will be desperate to finish the campaign in positive fashion and keep their slim hopes of Champions League qualification alive until the last game of the season.