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PAPER TALK - Infantino to be suspended? Gabbiadini - Diawara swap? Llorente back to Juve?
with a report that Milan could radically change course over the next 15 days, but only if the sale of the club goes through. The new owners would then have to face four quandaries: 1) What to do about the manager, with Unai Emery rumoured to be in the Evegrande group’s good books; 2) What to do about Ibrahimovic; 3) Whether Carlos Bacca will stay or go; 4) Whether the club will keep betting on young, Italian talent.
Oh, and it also has an interview with Silvio Berlusconi, who finally claims to know exactly who is part of the big Chinese consortium. About time!
It has also run with a report from Die Weit that current FIFA president Gianni Infantino is close to being suspended, a report which the organisation has quickly denied.
The Gazzetta claims that Bologna and Napoli are working on a Gabbiadini - Diawara swap, which would bring the Calcinate native back to his former club, where he did sterling work out on the left. He’s a bit of a different creature now, however...
Among other news, Lazio only have to call manager Cesare Prandelli to guarantee his services, whilst Fiorentina are being stubborn about Matias Vecino, and both he and Borja Valero will only be allowed to leave if someone spends in the region of 20 million… their buyout clauses.
With Pantaleo Corvino arriving to take his old place as director of sport back, he has already visited Paulo Sousa to promise him Ljubomir Fejsa and Jonatan Calleri.
Turning to Italy, the Rosea has president Tavecchio meeting with Giampiero Ventura either today or tomorrow to swear the former Torino Coach in.
The paper also has a tactical preview of Antonio Conte’s Azzurri, who could deploy three different formations in the group stages. Stefano Sturaro is said to be a potential surprise starter. Lord help us all.
The Corriere, on the other hand, claims that Gregory van der Wiel has eyes only for AS Roma, and that director of sport Walter Sabatini already has a three-year deal waiting for him.
The Roman daily has a new midfield alternative for Napoli: Piotr Zielinski! Which of his former Empoli charges has Maurizio Sarri NOT been linked with?
There is also a report that says that Daniel Alves is headed for Juventus, along with confirmation of the signing of PSG youngster Jonathan Ikone.
Tuttosport has a fresh perspective: with both they and the Corriere claiming that Inter Coach Roberto Mancini has eyes only for Yaya Toure, the Turinese broadsheet asks whether he would even be that useful.
He’s 33 years old, and would likely get in Ever Banega’s way. He’s no longer the roving midfielder he used to be, and tends to play behind the strikers at City now… and not very well, either.
The Turinese paper also has Guangzhou Evergrande LOANING Jackson Martinez to AC Milan. With the Rossoneri out of Europe, they won’t incur significant FFP penalties, and loans of this kind will be far less frowned upon. The notion is that Carlos Bacca - whom Milan ironically veered on last summer after Martinez went to Atletico - is increasingly tempted to leave, though agent Sergio Barilla’ recently told the Guardian that Milan shot down a €20 million offer from West Ham. They allegedly want €25-26m, lower than our estimates of €30m.
This is where Tuttosport comes into its own: being a Turinese paper, they claim that Sinisa Mihajlovic is likely to excel in the Granata’s less hierarchical front office, where his input will be appreciated by president Urbano Cairo and director of sport Gianluca Petrachi. The former Milan manager is also said to be calling a few of his former Rossoneri to Turin, including Juraj Kucka.
Speaking of Turin, Juventus are said to be in the hunt of a last-minute Fernando Llorente deal that could bring the Spaniard back to Turin… but they’ll only be doing this once they have dealt with the Morata and Zaza situation. Another transfer target: Gabriel Jesus of Palmeiras.
The front page, on the other hand, claims that Paulo Dybala and Paul Pogba are worth a combined €194 million.
@EdoDalmonte
