Gennaro Gattuso admits he 'accepts' Gonzalo Higuain's decision to leave as striker is left out of AC Milan's squad ahead of expected Chelsea switch Gonzalo Higuain left out of AC Milan squad to face Genoa in Serie A clash Gennaro Gattuso left Higuain out after a disappointing display in training Higuain, who is on loan from Juventus, is closing in on a move to Chelsea Argentine striker set to join Chelsea on loan with option for further year By Jeorge Bird For Mailonline Published: 13:08 GMT, 20 January 2019 | Updated: 13:38 GMT, 20 January 2019 Viewcomments Gonzalo Higuain's move to Chelsea appears to have taken a step closer to completion, with the forward having been left out of AC Milan's squad for their game against Genoa. AC Milan, who are in sixth place in Serie A, face Genoa away on Monday, but Higuain wasn't amongst the 23 players to have been selected, as reported by Football Italia. Instead, the 31-year-old is set to put the finishing touches on his move to Chelsea, as he prepares to join on an initial loan deal with an option to extend by a further year. AC Milan striker Gonzalo Higuain has been left out of the squad to face Genoa Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso revealed that he decided to not include Higuain in the squad for the game following a disappointing performance in training. https://twitter.com/acmilan/status/1086973434398236672, Gattuso said: 'I want to be honest with you all. We had a poor training session today due to all these rumours. We spoke after the training session and I did not consider him ready for this game'. 'I accept his decision. Surely he could have done more and maybe we could have helped him fit in better'. Milan manager Gennaro Gattuso left Higuain out after a disappointing display in training Gattuso added that the speculation linking Higuain with Chelsea have not helped Milan's preparations for the Genoa game. He said: 'Right now we have to work with professionalism and determination, all these rumours have not helped us lately and we have to look ahead'. Higuain, who has scored six goals in 15 Serie A games this season, is set to provide Chelsea with a much-needed attacking option. Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri started Eden Hazard up front in the 2-0 defeat away to Arsenal on Saturday but the Belgian was unable to make a major impact in that position. Higuain is set to join Chelsea on loan and will bolster Maurizio Sarri's attacking resources Olivier Giroud has often featured as a substitute this season but has still mustered just one goal in the Premier League, while Alvaro Morata, who has been the subject of much criticism, has been heavily linked with Atletico Madrid. Argentina international Higuain is currently on loan at Milan from Juventus and previously worked with Sarri at Napoli. Chelsea are currently in fourth place in the Premier League and have found the net on 40 occasions this season, 14 times fewer than leaders Liverpool. Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility