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Hard on the heels of the Arber Zeneli rumor, we’ve got a bit of news that could be rather more concrete about winger Mattia Sprocati. The player’s agent has confirmed to ViolaNews.com that the Viola have spoken to him about a move from Serie B outfit Salernitana.
If we’re being totally honest here, this isn’t as exciting as Zeneli would be. After all, Sprocati just turned 25 and has never played in the top tier. However, he’s had a heck of a year (his first as a full-time starter) for Salernitana with 10 goals and 6 assists in 33 appearances, so he may just be a late bloomer.
A Parma youth product, he’s bounced all over Serie B and what was then the Lega Pro in his career, never finding a home. His agent mentions that AS Roma was in touch about a move last year as well, but it’s hard to know if he’s being truthful or just blustering. Also, I’m so sorry about this video; it’s the best compilation of his work I could find and the background music is Nickelback. Serie B is a weird place sometimes.
He can play on either wing due to his pace and his two-footedness, but prefers the left. He’s a good dribbler who’s perhaps more quick than fast and crosses the ball pretty well too. While he’s not afraid to let fly from distance, it’s his movement into the box and on the break that tends reap rewards. He’s also pretty good about dropping in to help his fullback, which should endear him to Stefano Pioli.
A number of other teams from Series A and B are supposedly interested as well, but Fiorentina is undoubtedly the biggest at the moment, which seems to figure in his plans. A fee somewhere around €1 should be enough to pry him away from the Granata, who seem pretty resigned to losing him this summer. Given his form over the past 8 months—16 goals created means something no matter what league you’re in—he could be the sort of rough diamond that Corvino always unearths and polishes to a fine sheen, but the fans might have a hard time trusting him as the starter in next season’s opener.