Rumours linking Marco van Basten to AC Milan are unlikely to go away, after club owner Silvio Berlusconi opened the door for a "young, up-and-coming coach" should Carlo Ancelotti leave for Chelsea. The Blues are expected to name a successor to interim manager Guus Hiddink's at the end of the current campaign, and the Italian is the leading candidate. 

"Ancelotti is one of the family and he has won so much," said Berlusconi. "We will find a solution that is good for him and for us. Nothing has been decided, but we could go for a young, up-and-coming coach. Marco is like a son to me. He is a part of AC Milan's history."

Marco is like a son to me. He is a part of AC Milan's history.
AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi

Van Basten, a Rossoneri legend who has coached the Netherlands and most recently Ajax, met up with several former team-mates in Milan for dinner last night after travelling to Italy for a golf tournament.

Filippo Galli, currently employed at the San Siro as Ancelotti's technical assistant, insisted there had been no contact between coach and club, but did admit to broaching the idea of a future return for Van Basten.

"With regards to what Marco has told us, he has not been contacted by Milan," said Galli. "We did speak about the possibility of him coaching Milan, but more than anything we spoke about his experience at Ajax."

Milan administrator Adriano Galliani, meanwhile, insisted: "Marco was only here to play golf."

Ancelotti, who joined Milan in 2001 and is Serie A's longest-serving coach, is under contract until June 2010.