clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Simone Inzaghi linked with the Milan manager job that’s not even officially open yet

More manager rumors despite the fact that Gennaro Gattuso is still employed in the role at the club

SS Lazio v Bologna FC - Serie A Photo by Marco Rosi/Getty Images

There are reports coming out of Italy that say that AC Milan have identified current Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi as the person they would like to be the next manager of Milan. Milan have also been linked with Maurizio Sarri, Antonio Conte, and others as it’s been widely rumored that current boss Gennaro Gattuso will be sacked after the season, regardless of what position in the table that Milan reach.

Milan are not the only reported suitor for Inzaghi. After the surprise parting of ways been Max Allegri and Juventus, it’s also been rumored that the Old Lady was interested prying Inzaghi from Lazio, but Juventus has also been linked with a move for Sarri and even current Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

This would not be the first Inzaghi that Milan have employed at manager, as they had previously had Simone’s brother, Filippo, in charge of the club during the 2014-15 season. Filippo is a legend at Milan scoring 126 goals in only 300 appearances. His younger brother, by contrast, Simone, played most of his club career at Lazio.

Inzaghi would be more of a gamble than someone like Sarri or Conte, but he also would require less compensation. Inzaghi’s squads at Lazio have always seemed to over-perform expectations on the budget that they operate on, but it’s unknown if his success at Lazio would translate to success at a club with a bigger budget and greater expectations.

All of this, of course, assumes that Gattuso will be sacked at the end of the season. It’s not unreasonable to assume that he will be sacked, given the up-and-downs of the season, but if Gattuso does make the Champions League, it will be a little shocking to see him dismissed, as that was the stated goal for the club before the end of the season. A finish in the Europa League would almost certainly doom the Milan legend, and it’s hard to consider a season where Milan bombed out of the group stages of the Europa League, lost to Lazio in the Coppa Italia semifinals, and lost twice in the Derby della Madonnina to Inter Milan as anything other than an unsuccessful season.

Can Inzaghi inspire this team to fulfil its potential? Or, like his brother, will he be another in a long line of managers to last a season or less at the helm of the Rossoneri.