Gennaro Gattuso would be interested in becoming the next Rangers manager after Steven Gerrard left Ibrox to take over at Aston Villa on Thursday, according to the Daily Record.
The Premier League outfit have signed Gerrard to a three-and-a-half-year contract after agreeing a £3m compensation package with the Gers.
Gerrard leaves with the Glasgow giants atop the Premiership table, after lifting the 2020/21 title to end Celtic’s nine-in-a-row dominance.
Rangers are now seeking a new manager to replace Gerrard, and Gattuso would strongly consider returning to Ibrox. The Italian spent time in Glasgow as a player, before leaving to join Salernitana for £4m in 1998.
Gattuso is now open to returning to Rangers as manager, as his family want to relocate to Scotland. His wife is from Glasgow, where the 43-year-old was a fans’ favourite as a player.
Gattuso is currently out of work after a spell as Fiorentina boss lasted just 23-days after he fell out with the board over transfers. Although the 2006 World Cup winner has rejected chances to return to the dugout with Salernitana and Spartak Moscow since.
Tottenham Hotspur also held talks with Gattuso over replacing Jose Mourinho as manager. With TuttoMercatoWEB even reporting he agreed a €2.5m (£41k-a/w) two-year contract – the same amount he had agreed with Fiorentina.
But The Athletic soon revealed Spurs pulled the plug, after fans got #NoToGattuso trending on Twitter over historic comments regarding women in football and same-sex marriage.
Gattuso, who has previously managed AC Milan and Napoli, would now be interested in speaking with Rangers, should the Gers hierarchy look his way to replace Gerrard in charge.
Should Rangers make Gattuso their next manager to replace Gerrard?
Gattuso enjoyed mixed successes during his stints in charge at Milan and Napoli. He won 40 of 82 games in charge at the San Siro, and won 47 of 81 matches in Naples.
The two-time Champions League winner as a player also led Napoli to the 2019/20 Coppa Italia, beating Juventus on penalties.
While Milan icon Paulo Maldini praised Gattuso when the Rossoneri met his Napoli side in March. Noting, via Football-Italia: “He is a coach who is constantly evolving.
“I think the greatest thing about Gattuso is that he has an open mind to new ideas, even different ones that he was accustomed to, because football is constantly evolving.”
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