Reported AC Milan target Sandro Tonali has spoken out about speculation surrounding his future, and named a Rossoneri legend as his idol.
The Brescia midfielder is attracting a lot of attention from some of Europe’s top clubs if reports from a number of outlets are to be believed.
Tonali has previously revealed his love for Milan, claiming Gennaro Gattuso was his childhood idol, and Calciomercato.com reported in September that the Rossoneri had a €15-20m summer bid for Tonali rejected.
Competition is high, as Juventus, Inter, Napoli and Fiorentina have all been credited with interest in Serie A, while Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund have also been linked.
The Sun also recently reported that United are preparing a £40m (€46m) for Tonali to try and beat their rivals, but Massimo Cellino has half-jokingly stated that he would not even sell Tonali for €300million.
Now, Tonali has spoken out about his future and all the links with big clubs, admitting he is only focused on doing well at Brescia.
“I love President Cellino very much and he rates me highly. He’s a great person and I hope to travel down a good road with him,” the teenager said, via TEAMtalk.
“After the match against Fiorentina, he said he wouldn’t even sell me for €300m, but that doesn’t scare me, even if it really is a lot of money.
“I’m confident about what we’ll do this season. For now I’m not thinking about the market, I just want to help Brescia stay up.
“Being compared to Pirlo doesn’t bother me, but I think we’re very different because he had indescribable technique and quality.
“I consider myself to be like [Gennaro] Gattuso but more technical. He’s always been my role model.”
