ANALYSIS
By Kris Voakes | Italian Football Writer
With the summer transfer window close to being slammed shut, time is beginning to run out on those clubs looking to strengthen their first-team squads. And it means that any players looking to move on to pastures new before the start of 2012-13 had better get their skates on.
With Euro 2012 now long forgotten, attention is firmly fixed on players’ domestic futures, and there are many top international stars who are the talk of the transfer market right now. Big names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Ezequiel Lavezzi have already departed, and the lists of outgoing players at Serie A clubs could yet grow.
Providing a guide to some of the bigger potential departures, we look at some of the stars from Serie A who could be moving on before September 1.
Udinese have already lost Cristian Zapata, Alexis Sanchez, Gokhan Inler, Kwadwo Asamoah, Mauricio Isla and Samir Handanovic over the last year, but Pablo Armero may yet join them on the departures board. The Colombian wideman has made quite the name for himself over the last two seasons in Udine, but it may come back to bite the Zebrette as he now keeps an eye out for new employment.
“I am fine at the Friuli, I have four years of my contract left and the chance to play in the Champions League. I am calm, but I know clubs like Juventus and Napoli are interested in me,” said Armero recently, sending out a message that he is aware of his worth in a now thin-looking Udinese side. Much may now depend on Udinese’s Champions League clash with Sporting Braga as the window nears its closure.
The Uruguayan has pulled up as many trees as any Serie A player in recent years, and proved to be the driving force behind the star-studded Napoli side which caught Europe’s imagination in the Champions League last season. But with Lavezzi having already waved goodbye to the San Paolo, many of the continent’s clubs believe they can tempt the midfielder away as well.
A whole host of teams have been linked with Gargano in recent weeks, and it looked like he could be on the move when his agent was spotted heading for Valencia. He has also recently been linked with Inter, but Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is unlikely to want to lose a second key man following Lavezzi’s move to France. Gargano’s unhappiness at starting the season behind new signing Valon Behrami could cause more friction between the Uruguayan and coach Walter Mazzarri, though.
Without the various departures in Serie A this season, the Montenegrin has become one of the league’s top commodities four years on from his arrival in Italy from Partizan Belgrade. Twelve months after returning to domestic play following a knee ligament injury, he looks set to enjoy a great season in 2012-13, but with whom?
His name has been linked with Juventus almost constantly this summer, and this is a deal which cannot be ruled out until the page is turned on the calendar. The longer the Bianconeri go without adding to their forward pool, the more likely they are to pursue the avenues they have already trodden in looking to add the talented youngster to their ranks. At the moment, though, Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente is a more likely signing for Juve.
There are few top class goalkeepers who do not welcome a challenge when it comes their way, and Samir Handanovic’s arrival at Inter has presented exactly such a proposition for Julio Cesar. His wife, Susana Werner, blasted the club for their show of “disrespect” in adding the Slovenian to their roster, and her reaction suggested that a serious offer could see the Brazilian leave the club he won the Champions League with in 2010.
But with the shot-stopper still an Inter employee for now, there has to be a fair chance that he and Handanovic will be fighting for one jersey in 2012-13, unless recent talks with Tottenham, confirmed by the player’s agent, lead to a deal. There was also interest from Milan, Roma and Manchester City, but those avenues seem to have been closed off for now.
Italy international Matri is in quite the juxtaposition. Having been Juventus’ top scorer last season, one would be forgiven for believing his future his safe, but the Scudetto holders are likely to want to shake up their attacking options before the new term kicks off, and with Llorente and Jovetic in their sights, they will be more than willing to listen to offers for Matri.
The former Cagliari man has been mentioned in the same breath as Milan for much of the summer, and was even asked recently by Rossoneri defender Daniele Boneri whether a move to San Siro is on the cards. Despite the striker’s denial that an exit from Vinovo is on the horizon, Juve could well look to cash in on him if they manage to persuade either one of Llorente or Jovetic to come on board.
Pazzini’s impact at Inter had initially been a revelation, with his goalscoring form helping the Nerazzurri finish 2010-11 with some aplomb. However, the sale of Samuel Eto’o to Anzhi Makhachkala robbed him of his favoured strike partner, and Pazzini struggled last season as a result.
The striker’s dip in form has left him on Andrea Stramaccioni’s list of expendables as the young coach looks to build the Inter of the future. “I’ll be honest, I believe the club have made their decision and that I’ll no longer be a part of this project,” the former Sampdoria man admitted during the summer. Having got his agent hard at work looking for him a move, it would appear that Lazio’s interest has cooled, leaving Juventus as favourites should they look to a swap move for Fabio Quagliarella.
He may have finally got his hands on his favoured No.27 shirt at Juventus this summer after Milos Krasic’s departure, but the former Napoli and Sampdoria striker may well be set for a short-lived stint with the jersey as the transfer merry-go-round reaches its final stop. A year on from a period of isolation at Vinovo which saw him go until December without a league start, he may well be used as collateral for a move by the Bianconeri.
With much being said about a possible Pazzini-Quagliarella exchange in recent times, Inter have become the favourites for his signature, but Milan have also been linked over the summer months, and if the Rossoneri end up missing out on Matri then they look likely to consider Quagliarella as one of their alternative targets.
One year on from the ‘will he, won’t he’ episode that was Wesley Sneijder’s near-move to Manchester United, the Dutchman’s market value has dropped dramatically after a hugely disappointing 2011-12 campaign. The trequartista rarely featured in the Nerazzurri‘s few bright moments of last season, and was also unable to help resurrect Netherlands’ hopes of progressing at Euro 2012.
Along with the tightening grip of their economic situation, Sneijder’s difficult year has helped scare off United, and a big-money switch to join former team-mate Samuel Eto’o at Anzhi appears to be his most likely option. However, things seemed to have reached something of an even keel of late, and the former Real Madrid man could yet spend a fourth season in the black and blue. The one lingering doubt over his future remains that for as long as the window is open, Sneijder remains one of the world’s most gettable attacking midfielders.
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