Van Basten drops Milan hint

Former Netherlands coach and AC Milan striker Marco van Basten on Saturday dropped a huge hint that he may take over from Leonardo as coach of the Italians next season.

Leonardo is in the first year of a two-year deal but speculation has been rife for some weeks now that the powers that be at the San Siro are unsatisfied with his tenure and will terminate his contract in the close season.

Milan are third in the Serie A table and, barring defeat in the last two games, will almost certainly finish there.

But they reached only the second round of the Champions League, where they were thrashed 7-2 on aggregate by Manchester United, and the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia.

The season has been something of a failure given that a little over a month ago they had several chances to go top of the table, only to lose or draw each time.

And van Basten, who also played for and coached Ajax, is one of the names in line to take over from Leonardo should he leave.

Talking to regional television in Lombardy he said: “We will talk about this when the time is right, now is not the time.

“Milan have commitments in the league. I won’t say anything, it’s not right.”

Leonardo was also being evasive when he said ahead of Sunday’s clash with Fiorentina: “First we need to get results and then we’ll talk about my future.”