Transfer Tuesday: We’re baaaaaaaaaaaack

Staff

Paulo Sousa has laughed off speculation that he may quit or be fired soon, adding that the media get desperate for stories sometimes. Hard to argue with that part, but there was a lot of smoke about other managers this summer.

Former scouting director Eduardo Macia has rather landed on his feet, signing on in the same capacity with Premier League Champions. A larger budget will probably agree with him, but on the other hand, Villarreal aren’t around for him to plunder, either.

Defenders

We’d thought that the deal for Polish defender Adam Chrzanowski was all wrapped up, but apparently there’s a hitch in his move over from Legia Gdansk. The 19-year-old centerback still hasn’t been allowed to join the Primavera; sounds like the culprit is a slow work permitting system.

Nenad Tomovic recently stated in an interview that he was never even close to leaving Florence, completely shutting down the rumors that Sinisa Mihajlovic was on the brink of bringing him to Torino.

Juventus misfit Martin Caceres somehow didn’t secure a move out of Turin over the summer, despite heavy interest from Fiorentina and various other Italian clubs. Now, though, it sounds like there’s also a lot of interest in him from England, especially since he’s a free agent and thus able to sign whenever he feels like it.

Midfielders

AC Milan are still sizing up Milan Badelj, although whether they’d try for him over the winter or wait until next summer, when he only has a year left on his contract, remains a mystery. It seems increasingly certain that the Croatian is not a long-term solution for the Viola.

The Rossoneri have joined Inter Milan in pursuit of Federico Bernardeschi. If the Nerazzuri were unable to pry him away with a reported €25 million offer, it seems unlikely that their local rivals will be able to offer much more; the Berlusconis are also rumored to be in for Arda Turan of Barcelona.

While we’re talking about Viola wingers, La Nazione believes that Fiorentina will pay the €8 million fee to Barcelona for the full rights to Cristian Tello, which certainly looks reasonable.

Inter and Napoli are both plotting moves for Atalanta star Franck Kessie, who’s also been linked to Fiorentina. The 19-year-old Ivorian, who can play at centerback or in the midfield, may have just gotten too pricey for the Viola.

Forwards

We’ll continue by setting to rest the rumors of an impending Nikola Kalinic exit. His agent has once again spoken through the press to communicate just how pleased his client is to call Florence home, and also took time to heap praise on youngster Josip Maganjic.

We’ve also heard from Reppublica that the rumored Kalinic swap for Genoa hitman Leonardo Pavoletti never had an ounce of truth. Pavoletti has gone on record as saying that he chose to stay with the Ligurians, rather than because he had no other options.

In a bit of a gut-wrencher, Gabigol’s agent has said that the Brazilian starlet nearly moved to Fiorentina last January; apparently, the club had an agreement in place with both Santos and the player to bring him over, but couldn’t come up with the €17 million to close the deal, and instead put things on hold until this summer. Had Daniele Prade not left the club, it might well have happened.