Chelsea target Gonzalo Higuain wants to leave Milan, says Gennaro Gattuso

Gonzalo Higuain has been strongly linked with a move to Chelsea

AC Milan head coach Gennaro Gattuso has confirmed Chelsea target Gonzalo Higuain wants to leave the club.

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.

"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."

When a player makes up his mind it becomes hard to convince them otherwise. Gennaro Gattuso

The Argentina international reportedly wants to join his former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.

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.

Maurizio Sarri worked with Higuain at Napoli

"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."