Milan (AFP) – Gonzalo Higuain has made up his mind to leave AC Milan, coach Gennaro Gattuso said on Saturday amid speculation linking the striker to Premier League side Chelsea.
Higuain joined Milan on a season-long loan from Juventus in July with an option to make the deal permanent, but he has struggled to settle at the San Siro, scoring eight goals in all competitions.
The 31-year-old again drew a blank in AC Milan’s 2-0 Italian Cup win over Sampdoria on Saturday as substitute Patrick Cutrone netted a double in extra time.
“When a player makes up his mind it becomes hard to convince them otherwise,” said Gattuso of Higuain.
“I have a relationship with him that features great honesty, we say things to one another’s face.
“At the moment, he’s our player and we’re holding on tightly to him. I don’t know what will happen.”
The Argentina international reportedly wants to join his former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.
Milan paid 18 million euros ($20.75 million) to sign him on loan, with a clause to make the deal permanent for a further 36 million euros.
Higuain had his most successful season under Sarri, breaking the Serie A goalscoring record with 36 goals in the 2015/16 campaign.
“I’ve talked to him a great deal, but it’s hard to give advice, because the career of a player only lasts 13-14 years,” continued Gattuso.
“It’s his mind, not mine. The most important thing is to talk as men, look each other in the eyes and speak the truth.
“I still don’t understand what Higuain’s unhappy about, because I see a happy lad, involved in the locker room.
“We’ll see what happens. If it was up to me, I’d keep him at my house and feed him my dinner.”
