MAROTTA BLINDA VIDAL AND POGBA. GALLIANI: “NO OFFER FROM LIVERPOOL FOR BALOTELLI. AT THE MOMENT…"
Calendar in hand, we are entering the hot phase of the transfer market, the long sprint towards the finish line on 1st September. From now on, the operations kept in mothballs for weeks could undergo sensational accelerations, and there will be surprises.
Exactly what the fans hope will not happen to Juve when they come out, where up to now they have been good at shutting down the English sirens that saw Vidal ever closer to Manchester United. On the occasion of the traditional Villar Perosa catwalk (Juventus beat Primavera 6-1 with two goals from Tevez), Beppe Marotta took stock of the situation, reassuring the fans: "We have no ongoing negotiations for Vidal, nor have we had any requests from the player to leave – he said the Juventus CEO before the family match -. Vidal has always told us he wants to stay here and we are happy to keep him. The renewal done in the middle of last season consolidated the marriage between the parties and there are all the conditions for Vidal to stay". And again: “All of our main market objectives have been achieved and the team is stronger than last year. Pogba? Negotiations have been started with his agents and there are all the conditions that a conclusion can be reached in a short and fast time ”.
Therefore, if there should be no earthquakes at the exit, something could still happen at the entrance. On the one hand, Marotta has chosen a low profile ("What are we missing? An attacker, but it won't be a sensational profile"), on the other, however, he has opened the door to something more intriguing: "If there are opportunities, the we will seize, but at the moment we have achieved most of the market objectives". The dream name is that of Radamel Falcao, described as a lion in the golden cage of the Principality of Monaco. The attacker wants to leave (the club would have decided not to invest in the market anymore), and Juve would be a very welcome solution. The operation would be very expensive, because the player gets 12 million net a year, but a loan (even onerous) with part of the salary paid by the Monegasques could facilitate the success of the negotiation.
From England it bounced back the news of an offer from Liverpool for Mario Balotelli: 22 million euros for Milan and 6 per season for the forward. This explains the presence of his agent Mino Raiola yesterday at Milanello, where he evidently informed his client of the opportunity for a new transfer.
Adriano Galliani threw water on the fire: “At the moment no offer for Balotelli has been received from Liverpool – explained the Rossoneri CEO to Ansa -, therefore there is no negotiation. Then, the transfer market ends on September XNUMXst, we'll see”. A sibylline phrase that leaves sensational scenarios open, to the point that Galliani's opening immediately had repercussions on bets on the next Super Mario team, with Liverpool having gone from 7,00 to 3,00 and are now in the front row with Arsenal (at the same odds). Milan has set the minimum fee for a transfer at 25 million, in any case far from the 35 million that would have been offered by Arsenal before the World Cup (remember Berlusconi's sentence a few days after Italy's elimination? “Other than Italy, the I lost the World Cup, because I was selling Balotelli to an English team for 35 million, but after this World Cup, who's going to buy me anymore?”), still enough to then try to hunt down another striker, be it the famous winger desired by Inzaghi (in the last few hours there has been a rapprochement between Milan and Turin for Cerci, who has not been called up for the Europa League away match in Split), or a first striker to fill the void left by eventual departure of Balotelli. The Douglas Costa option is still on standby, with Shakhtar still at 25 million.
Days, if not hours, also decisive for what concerns the troubled Benatia affair.
As reported by L'Equipe, the Moroccan defender even asked not to participate at the presentation of Roma at the Olimpico (then he took part in it and was also acclaimed by the Giallorossi fans). In fact, the agent Sissoko would have presented himself to Sabatini with an offer of 30 million euros signed by Bayern Munich, despite the fact that it seemed made for the renewal with Roma on the basis of two million a year plus bonuses. A proposal that does not convince Roma, who are asking for 35 million plus another 5 in bonuses for their centre-back. Furthermore, Sissoko was authorized to go to Munich to ask Bayern Munich to adjust the offer (upwards, naturally).
To make the intrigue of the transfer market even more captivating, they set about it also the ds of Rome Walter Sabatini and the a.d. Baldissoni, intercepted at Fiumicino airport as they embarked for London. Certainly not a random destination, because contacts were made in London for Nastasic (which Juventus also like, but costs around 15 million euros), now on a collision course with Manchester City and for Tottenham's Romanian Chiriches.
In Naples it is yellow-Fellaini. The online edition of The Sun, in fact, has published a photo of the Belgian midfielder on crutches after a left ankle injury in training. Fellaini is portrayed with his foot in a cast upon leaving the hospital and the suffering painted on his face leaves little room for doubt, and everything led us to think that Benitez and Napoli could change their focus, since there was also talk of a possible involvement of the ligaments. A few hours later, however, the midfielder immortalized in a video for the Ice Bucket Challenge is back on the web, the initiative that sees many VIPs and ordinary people undergo a freezing shower in favor of ALS research. Video shot days ago or flash cure? However, the negotiation is firm, because Manchester City are asking for 3 million euros for the loan and 12 for the purchase, and until Napoli know whether or not they will play the Champions League (next Wednesday the return match against Athletic Bilbao after 1-1 in the first leg) will not be able to sink the blow.
Also in the Naples house, the Insigne case should be reported: the player, who was booed at the time of his substitution in the match against the Basques, reacted badly and threw his shirt on the bench. Today on Twitter here is the outburst of his wife, Jenny Darone: “Today he is wrong and immediately ready to point the finger at him, tomorrow he scores and becomes a saint! But go f… occasional fans of the c…”. And again: "You don't deserve it in Naples". Anger of the moment or desire for a change of scenery?
