AC Milan has confirmed the departure of head coach Vincenzo Montella after the big-spending club's below-par start to the season continued with a 0-0 draw at home to Torino on Sunday. This result means that it is 18 points adrift of the Serie A leader Napoli and currently languishes in seventh place.
Former player Gennaro Gattuso has been promoted from his role with the Primavera youth team to take charge of the senior side. We have yet to know if Gattuso's appointment is on a temporary or permanent basis.
Milan finished sixth in Serie A last season, a point and a place above derby rival Inter. Despite the club making 11 major signings in the summer transfer window, including Leonardo Bonucci, Andre Silva and Andrea Conti, the results have been poor.
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Montella's side opened the campaign with wins against Crotone and Cagliari, but a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Lazio then suggested it had plenty of work to do to achieve Champions League qualification.
After victories over Udinese and SPAL temporarily papered over the cracks, Milan subsequently lost three league games in a row, including a thrilling 3-2 derby defeat to Internazionale on the back of Mauro Icardi's brilliant hat-trick.
More home defeats to Roma and Juventus followed and with Milan well off the pace, the club has opted to part ways with 43-year-old Montella, who was only appointed in June 2016.
Former Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti, sacked by Bayern Munich earlier this season, was expected to be among the leading contenders to replace Montella.
However, the Italian – who won a Serie A title and the Champions League twice in his previous eight-year spell at the club – has previously announced his intention to take the rest of the season off.
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