Gianluigi Donnarumma marks his one-year anniversary as AC Milan's No. 1 on Tuesday night with the club's general manager Adriano Galliani hoping he will stay with the club for years.
Donnarumma, 17, made his debut on Oct. 25, 2015 in the clash with Sassuolo. A year on, he has made 39 Serie A appearances will be part of the Milan team that can go top for the first time since March 31, 2012 by beating Genoa.
Last month he became the youngest goalkeeper to ever play for Italy when coming off the bench to replace Gianluigi Buffon in an international friendly against France, and has been linked with a move to Real Madrid in the future.
But Galliani thinks that Donnarumma will ignore speculation linking him with a move away from the San Siro.
"I hope and I am convinced that he will be a Milan player for many more years," Galliani told Mediaset. "I believe he will be Buffon's successor [in the Italy national team], even though Gigi is still a great goalkeeper."
Christian Abbiati, who lost his place in the Milan team to Donnarumma last season, told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he does not begrudge him the No. 1 jersey.
"I saw him in training and so I knew his qualities," Abbiati said. "The only unknown was how he would cope with the San Siro and the burden of being a first-team player, while another factor is continuity, but he has always maintained his concentration.
"He is focused even when play is at the other end of the field, because your opponent could be bearing down on you in a matter of seconds and you have to be ready in the mind. He's already at a high level, but he's got even more to give.
"Particularly in terms of experience -- if [Milan] qualify for Europe, that will give him a lot. Technically he can still improve with the ball at his feet, but I'm confident he will. As I've already said, nothing about Gigio surprises me anymore.
"Buffon is in splendid form, but after him I see only Donnarumma. Other Italian goalkeepers are great, but they are not in their league. He's got all it takes to be a future Milan captain."
Juventus goalkeeper Buffon has already indicated that he will retire from football after the World Cup in 2018, when he will be 40.