‘Donnarumma won’t be fazed’

By Football Italia staff

Milan Coach Vincenzo Montella credits his predecessor, Sinisa Mihajlovic, for Gianluigi Donnarumma’s development.

The 18-year-old goalkeeper is expected to make his first start for Italy against the Netherlands tomorrow, having previously won two caps off the bench.

“The merit is Sinisa’s because he had the courage to launch a 16-year-old goalkeeper at Milan in place of Diego Lopez,” Montella told Premium Sport.

“I wish a big good luck to Gigio, but I’m certain he’ll face this with the peace of mind which he shows in every game for Milan.”

Montella was also asked about the long-awaited sale of the club, with the closing now set for mid-April.

“Honestly I haven’t been following it too much, I’m not going to expend a lot of energy on it. We’ll see what happens.

“My future? Let’s see what they [the new owners] think, but for me I have a contract and there are no problems.”

The Coach also discussed today’s Panchina d’Oro, which went to Napoli’s Maurizio Sarri.

“I voted for [Eusebio] Di Francesco, not because he’s my friend but because he had a fantastic season, but Sarri also had his merits and it’s right like this.

“In terms of net values I think Di Francesco had a great season, he finished sixth and took Sassuolo to the Europa League.

“Napoli-Juventus? I think Napoli have the strength and organisation to beat Juve in a one-off game, but overall I think the Bianconeri are ahead as a team.”

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