"?AC Milan boss Vincenzo Montella has revealed that French forward M'Baye Niang is currently holding talks with the club regarding a January exit.
A number of Premier League clubs are said to be keen on signing the striker this month, including the likes of West Ham, Crystal Palace and Everton. However, according to reports coming out of Italy, Niang is considering an offer from Torino.
Slaven Bilic is keen on signing AC Milan forward M'Baye Niang. Milan want £13m but would be happy to loan him till the summer [Sky Italy] pic.twitter.com/YfAcG0vpCD
Montella gave no indications as to where the player might end up, but did confirm that he will be left out of the Coppa Italia quarter-final against Juventus.
"Niang might leave the club," the manager admitted to Milan TV (H/T "?Four Four Two). "He's discussing it with the management. He won't be called up for the game against Juve as I thought he would definitely have been distracted."
Speaking in a news conference thereafter, Montella declared: "He's always been involved in normal situations. Sometimes he's been on the fringes but he's never been out. As long as he's a Milan player he'll get the consideration he deserves.
"He has made himself available right from the start and he's trying to grow so he can manage his talent better.
"He's a player who has had his ups and downs and there are things he needs to improve. We tried, and we got to a point where we were delighted with the results - the boy was, too - and I'm not talking about technical results.
"He got to a certain point and then stopped, and I won't pretend to know why, nor do I want to say.
"I didn't like the attitude that he showed when he came on against Torino, and he acknowledged that. He's done more in the past, as he would also admit.
"If he stays here, we'll try again. If he goes elsewhere then I hope he succeeds."
Meanwhile, new signing Gerard Deulofeu (who came from Everton) could be handed an appearance against the Serie A champions, with Montella insisting that the player is eager to make his mark.
Vincenzo Montella: "We bought Gerard Deulofeu so that he could play. We hope he'll show his great talent." pic.twitter.com/DkNN05n6J8
"He's a player I know very well because I've been following him for some time," he said. "He has all the talent in the world but hasn't expressed it fully.
"One of my tasks will be to see why that is, because he's a really strong player.
"We signed him to play him. We'll see how he is physically but he's keen to make his mark."