Transfer Tuesday: Grinding the gears

Goalkeepers

Young Luca Lezzerini, understandably concerned about his role with the club since the arrival of Bartłomiej Drągowski, is reconsidering his future with Fiorentina. Although he and his agent haven't yet determined if he's going to leave on loan or ask to be sold. Spezia, Benevento, and Vicenza are all monitoring his situation, so he's already got plenty of suitors. The identity of the number one for next year remains hazy, as La Nazione claims PSG's Salvatore Sirigu is the top choice, with Udinese's Simone Scuffet as the top alternative. Even so, though, Fiorentina have registered interest in Torino man Daniele Padelli, who hasn't been offered an extension. Palermo and Atalanta are also interested. Hellas Verona star Pierluigi Gollini has finally received a valuation from the new management, and they're asking for €10 million, which seems a bit high.

Defenders

José Basanta, having spent the past year and a half in Mexico, will officially join Monterrey when the window opens, various sources claim. Sounds like the fee will be about €1 million. His fellow Argentinian international Facundo Roncaglia is also on the outs, although his destination is unknown. Trabzonspor have joined Lazio and Real Betis in pursuit of his services. Finally, Nenad Tomović's move to Torino is being held by several factors. The first is the animus between the clubs over certain other deals (more on that later), but the Granata are only offering €3.5 million of Fiorentina's stated price of €5 million. And, with the pending exit of Roncaglia, management is leery of shipping out another central defender without a replacement. The upshot is that Nenad will report to Moena, which will please the player and his family, who've just bought a house in Florence.

Valencia reject and Portuguese international Rúben Vezo is the most likely candidate to replace him right now. Although he's got a €7 million release clause, los Murciélagos are eager to ship him off and would listen to offers around €4 million. As Paulo Sousa has purportedly requested the player, Pantaleo Corvino is hard at work. Palermo's Edoardo Goldaniga is one of the top alternatives. Maurizio Zamparini already turned down a €4 million offer for him, but the Viola are going to return with an improved offer. 18 year old Dinamo Zagreb star Filip Benković is a hulking young prospect who fits the "talented young Balkan" profile favored by Corvino, who's considering a move for him. River Plate's Éder Balanta is no longer the world-beating prospect he was 3 years ago, but he's still just 23 and, if healthy, could provide a fantastic return on investment. The other news from South America is that Barcelona have made an approach for Fluminense's Marlon, a former Fiorentina target who's drawn David Luiz comparisons.

Young rightback Lorenzo Venuti is working on an extension with Fiorentina even as Salernitana, Vicenza, and Carpi all clamor for his services on loan. Lille's rightback Djibril Sidibé was briefly linked to Fiorentina, but Monaco have come in with a €15 million offer which should seal the deal. €15 million is also what Torino are asking for Davide Zappacosta, whom Fiorentina covet, although AS Roma are also interested. The wingback's status is part of the trouble in getting anything done with the Granata.

Midfielders

While the Milan Badelj to Roma talk has died down a bit, Luciano Spalletti won't stop reminding us that the Croatian international is one of his favorites. The most obvious in house replacement, though, has already left the building: the Viola brass declined to bring Leonardo Capezzi back from his loan at Crotone, who will pay €400,000 for the U21 international stalwart. Squali DS Giuseppe Ursino sounds shocked that his club will get to keep the youngster for so cheap, but he's clearly pleased. Sticking with the youngsters, Marco Berardi looks set for a loan move to Lega Pro new boys Francavilla. Montenegrin Marko Bakić, fresh off an outstanding season with Belenenses in Portual, is attracting a good deal of Lusitanian interest: Os Belem want to buy him, but acknowledge his wages may be too high. Sporting have stepped in with an offer of €1.2 million, which may well be enough to pry the former Corvino signing away, but he'll report to Moena for the beginning of camp. Josh Brillante, however, looks set to return to FC Sydney after a failed stint in Italy.

The list of replacements is a bit shorter this time around. The biggest surprise is that Grêmio have decided that Walace, their budding star of a defensive midfielder and the subject of a great deal of failed intrigue last season, is for sale. The Porto Alegre outfit is asking for €10 million, but TuttoMercatoWeb thinks he could be had for as little as €6 million; somewhere between those two figures feels about right. In other news from Brazil, Hernani (about whom you can read more here) should cost about €3 million. Hellas have set a €4 million price for long-term target Federico Viviani, which seems eminently reasonable. Davy Propper, though, is set to stay at PSV, which will disappoint those three people who genuinely thought Fiorentina would make an offer for him.

According the Gazzetta dello Sport, Fiorentina and Barcelona have agreed to a one year loan deal for Cristian Tello, with a fee of €8 million to buy him next year. It sounds like they're just waiting on the winger to okay the deal. Nicolò Fazzi, though, will join Capezzi at Crotone. It sounds like the Viola are also going to let him stick with the Pitagorici, which is a letdown for a player who nearly broke into the senior squad 2 years ago. His fellow Primavera star Simone Minelli is also leaving, but just on loan to Carpi for a year.

Well, news leaked that Sousa wants wingers, and the market has responded with lots of rumors about wingers. The big one is Atlético Nacional speedster Marlos Moreno. Just 21 and already with 7 caps and a goal for Colombia, he's available for €10 million. While that may seem high, Corvino has made him a priority. Even so, the Crow may be powerless to stop Manchester City from swooping in for him, although the player's agent Eladio Tamayo says that he'll announce his client's destination on Friday.

He's not the only attacker whose future hangs in the balance, though, as Torino's move for Adem Ljajić looks to be on the verge of collapse. Roma want more than the proffered €7 million, and the Serb wants more than the €1.5 salary they've offered, holding out for €1.9 million. If rumor can be believed, he'd rather play in Florence than Turin, too, and wants Corvino to come take him away from all this, which has definitely ruffled Torino's feathers.

There are a couple other options, as well. Most interesting, perhaps, is that there's no word about Emanuele Giaccherini for these past few days. Whether that means that Corvino is working his ninja magic, or that Giak is completely off the board, is up for debate. Rennes' Polish international Kamil Grosicki is supposedly available for €8 million, although his contract runs until 2020. Solidly in the "lol" file is the news that Anderlecht attacker Dennis Praet's move to Sevillas has fallen through, leaving the player eyeing up a move to Italy again.

Forwards

Nikola Kalinić has been the subject of several transfer offers already, but both player and club are determined to see him stay put. The Corrierre dello Sport alleges that Dortmund have offered about €9.5 million for Josip Iličić, which probably won't be enough to pry him away. Khouma Babacar, though, continues to slip towards the exit door. Sassuolo are making eyes at him, and Tuttosport thinks that Fiorentina will jump to sell him for any offer over €10 million. Giuseppe Rossi, we hear, is at the top of Bologna's wishlist, but it seems unlikely that they'll be able to close a deal for him right now. Mario Gómez, meanwhile, has refused to rule out any possibilities, now claiming that he'd be happy to return to Beşiktaş, although offers have come in from England, Germany, and France, including an audacious plan by West Ham, of all teams, to swap him for Fernando Llorente. Fiorentina have rejected a €3 million offer from Beşiktaş in the expectation that Marione's excellent performance at the Euros guarantees at least a €5 million price. Finally, Hertha Berlin, Schalke, and Hoffenheim are all kicking the tires on Ante Rebić.

With so many strikers on the outs, it's no surprise that there are some tapped to join, too. The most popular name right now is that of Croatian Marko Pjaca, the 21 year old Dinamo Zagreb star who'll supposedly cost €20 million. Fiorentina are jostling with Inter Milan, Juventus, and half of the clubs in Europe for his signature, although Ajax look like they may get first crack at him, and it's easy to see why they're so excited.

Nacional's 19 year old Uruguayan U20 striker Ruben Amaral is a much more affordable option; he'd probably only cost around €3 million, and although Galatasaray are also interested, it's the Viola who've made contact with his club. If you'd rather see Fiorentina sign a more familiar Uruguayan, then you're in luck, because the Gazzetta dello Sport claim that Fiorentina have made an offer to Hull City for Abel Hernández. Jonathan Calleri, who just a month ago was supposed to be the new Viola savior, is now linked to a €10 million move to Lazio. And it looks like the Gabigol dream may be over, as Arsenal have decided that the Brazilian phenom is just the man they need to cure their Jamie Vardy blues.