Transfer Friday: Feels like we only go backwards

Staff

Not quite transfer business, but Andrea Rogg says that Fiorentina will have signed a sponsor by about this time next week. Still no idea who it'll be, but here's hoping for Nintendo or Sammontana.

Goalkeepers

Nope. Niente. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. Move along, folks.

Defenders

Nenad Tomović is still the apple of Siniša Mihajlović's eye, it seems. The Serbians had an inconclusive meeting earlier this week, but Torino is keeping their options open by monitoring a number of other defenders as well. Ricardo Bagadur is more likely to leave, with Benevento seeming the most likely destination. Gianluca Mancini will probably close his temporary move to Perugia in the next few days, too. Gilberto is another Viola defender who looks likely to leave, with Chievo Verona the newest possible landing spot.

Obviously, Fiorentina badly needs defensive reinforcements. Fortunately, the club is "in talks" about half a dozen or so players, if you believe the transfer-drunk reporters. The newest name is that of Club Brugge's 23 year old Dutchman Stefano Denswil. The Belgians have purportedly rejected a €3 million offer, holding out for €4 million, as Watford also circles. Oh yeah, and apparently he can score direct free kicks and likes bears.

Angers 28 year old Romain Thomas is another option, according to French rag L'equipe, but that honestly sounds like an agent trying to drive up his price. As for the dudes we've hear a lot about over the past couple of weeks, Coritiba are still holding out for €5 million for Juninho, while Fiorentina are hesitant to offer over €3 million; the clubs are still talking, though, according to La Nazione. The same source claims that the Sven van Beek deal is on the verge of being resurrected, with Karim Rekik now the fallback option, which seems, er, questionable. It's also probably worth mentioning that we haven't heard anything about fullbacks for a couple of weeks, which could well mean that Corvino's onto something.

Midfielders

Maurizio Sarri is back to pleading with Aurelio de Laurentiis to buy Matías Vecino, for whom he harbors an unsettling desire. What with the Pipita windfall, a big offer could be forthcoming. He's not the Uruguayan midfielder who's officially left, though. That would be Andrés Schetino, who's joined Sevilla (or, more realistically, Sevilla B) for the year on loan, with an option for the Andalusians to buy him at the end of the year. It seems like an ignominious end to the 22-year-old's Fiorentina career. He's probably a casualty of Pantaleo Corvino cleaning out Daniele Pradè's players from the system. Finally, former Corvino protegee Marko Bakić's move is back on. He's officially been sold to Braga directly, for a fee believed to be around €1.2 million. Farewell, fashion icon.

Not much out there right now if you're looking for midfield reinforcements. The most interesting is Reppublica's assertion that Empoli have realized that they overestimated the market for Riccardo Saponara and are now open to selling him for €12 million, which has put the Viola brass on high alert. The Viola are watching Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro, who plays for Toulouse, the Cote d'Ivoire, and the International Great Names team, has other admirers in Serie A besides Fiorentina, which isn't surprising. Novara are re-thinking their adamant "not for sale" designation for putative Gigliati target Paolo Faragò, who may be trying to force his way out. And Napoli remain poised to sign Dinamo Zagreb teenager Marko Rog, although Sarri seems to prefer Udinese playmaker Piotr Zieliński and is keeping the Rog deal on the backburner until that's resolved, which could give Corvino the room he needs to snake the deal.

We're inching towards some sort of closure in the Cristian Tello affair. He's confirmed to be on his way out of Barcelona, but his destination remains unknown. AC Milan have lodged a formal inquiry, but that's probably more to ruffle some Viola feathers than anything else. Southampton, however, have offered €13 million, which could be tempting. Valencia are interested, too, although Barca DS Robert Fernandez says that Tello won't be part of the Andres Gomes deal. Despite all of these possibilities, the most likely option, as outlined by the Sun, is that the winger will return to Florence next week.

As for the other reinforcements in the wide areas, well, there are rumors. Joaquín Piquerez is a 17 year old Uruguayan winger who plays for Defensor Sporting in Uruguay, but his arrival in Florence seems imminent; he's even tweeted that he expects to join the squad in the next week or so. He may be a replacement for Colombian flyer Marlos Moreno, whom Fiorentina were close to buying, only to lose out to Manchester City, who've closed the deal and loaned him to Deportivo la Coruña. The other name floating around is Torino's Mattia Aramu, who just finished a pretty good season on loan with Livorno. Now 21, he was a superstar teenager who's since fizzled a bit, but he's still got plenty of quality and could be a nice low-risk, high reward investment.

Forwards

With a pile of cash and a gaping hole at striker, Napoli are back to eyeing Nikola Kalinić. We've hear conflicting reports that Fiorentina would sell for €25 million or more and that he's untouchable, but it sounds like the Partenopei want to give Manolo Gabbiadini a chance before they bring in help from outside. Mario Gómez' future remains even murkier. The Viola are hoping to get €7 million for him, but are also interested in swapping him for Cristian Tello, although Barcelona seem uncertain, given the wage disparity. On the other hand, he was spotted in Amsterdam today, so now we've got the "Marione to Ajax" rumors beginning in 5. Finally, Greek side Asteras Tripoli have expressed interest in bringing Cedric Gondo in on loan for a season. The 19 year old Ivorian target man had a successful campaign with Ternana last season, so a move to the Greek Superleague could be a good step.