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Tuesday Transfer Talk with David Amoyal: Euro 2016's hottest picks
Zlatan Ibrahimovic ended his international career after Sweden was eliminated in the group stage. The striker is expected to travel to England to sign with Manchester United around July 1st, he will likely join another Raiola client, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, on Mourinho’s squad. Another player who was recently eliminated in the Euro is however likely staying where he is- Marek Hamsik showed his worth to those who weren’t familiar with his performances in Serie A, but his close ties to Napoli and the Italian club’s ambitious project make it unlikely he will be leaving this summer.
The same cannot be said for Marko Pjaca who made a name for himself at the Euro playing for Croatia. The talented offensive midfielder is ready to take the next step in his career after turning 21, he has been linked to Serie A clubs for quite some time. Fiorentina’s sporting director Corvino likely regrets waiting to close the deal since Pjaca’s value has ski rocketed in recent weeks. Juventus is also interested, but Milan appears to be the front runner since Pjaca wants an opportunity to play regularly.
Pjaca’s teammate on Croatia, Sime Vrslajko is set to join Atletico Madrid, a club who is interested in Carlos Bacca. The Colombian striker could be the key to Milan landing Pjaca since they would need to raise funds by selling him or Niang to meet Dinamo Zagreb’s price. Croatia also features Marcelo Brozovic who could be on his way out at Inter after Banega’s arrival and the possibility that Sneijder returns to the nerazzurri. Brozovic has been linked to Atletico Madrid as well as clubs in the Premier League.
Poland has been one of the surprise teams at the Euro mainly thanks to their excellent defense lead by Kamil Glik. Torino’s current captain is on his way to Monaco, who is set to close the deal for around 11 million euro- a superb value for a player of his caliber. Glik would have been perfect for Milan and some mid to top tier level clubs in the Premier League.
Poland recently eliminated Switzerland, a team that features Embolo who just signed for Schalke as well as Stephan Lichtsteiner who has been rumored by some to be on his way out at Juventus. The right back intends to stay in Turin, and the recent signing of Dani Alves has more to do with Cuadrado’s loan expiring since the Colombian often rotated with Lichtsteiner at Juventus.
Chelsea still owns the rights to Cuadrado, and has been looking to some players on Belgian’s national team for potential reinforcements. They have been pursuing Radja Nainggolan but with Pjanic leaving Roma it was always going to be a tough deal to pull off (the giallorossi recently turned down a bid worth 40 million from the Blues)- the midfielder also never pushed for the move to happen as he’s happy in Italy’s capital. As an alternative, Chelsea has now joined Everton and Napoli in the race for Axel Witsel. Zenit is asking for at least 25 million euro and the player is looking for around 4 million euro net of taxes per season- figures that will make it hard for Napoli to compete with the Premier League clubs.
Chelsea also continues to be in the race for Alvaro Morata. Last week Real Madrid exercised their option to buy him back from Juventus for 30 million euro, which was a no brainer considering that his market value is now considerably higher. Real Madrid will either sell him this summer or keep him as Ronaldo’s understudy, in addition to Chelsea there is also interest from Arsenal and Juventus who could buy him back (a return to Turin would be more likely should Pogba head to Real Madrid).
While this current Italy team may not have many stars, they have some players in the transfer news headlines. Leonardo Bonucci has been getting a lot of praise in 2016, Pep Guardiola stated he was one of his favorite players when Bayern Munich faced Juventus in the Champions League, and his performances in the Euro so far have only increased his value.
But Bonucci will almost certainly stay in Turin this summer. He has repeatedly stated he wants to stay at Juventus also because he signed an extension with a significant raise last summer. While public quotes aren't very important, Bonucci has a very strong bond to Juventus and their fans- when he's suspended he watches home matches in the stands with the club's organized fan bases. Considering that Barzagli turned 35 recently, and that Chiellini has been injury prone you can make a case Bonucci is the most valuable player on Juve's squad.
Some of Bonucci's teammates at the Euro are also rumored to be changing clubs. Antonio Candreva has been linked to Inter, Napoli and Chelsea. While he has been very valuable to Lazio, they are deep at his position with young players like Felipe Anderson, Kishna and Keita (they also own Ravel Morrision), Candreva's top choice is to go to Inter but they have yet to meet Lazio's asking price of €25 million.
Alessandro Florenzi has been on a big name on the transfer market since his superb goal against Barcelona in the Champions League. His versatility (can play anywhere on right wing as well as in the middle) and work rate make him very valuable, but his close ties to Roma make it hard to see him leaving this summer especially after the club lost Pjanic.
Two former Juventus players currently representing Italy are also on the market. Giaccherini continues to show why he's so valuable in Conte's system- he can play numerous positions in a 3 man defense and his work rate is second to none. Giaccherini is still owned by Sunderland after playing on loan at Bologna, he has been recently linked to Torino and Fiorentina.
Ciro Immobile is looking to get his career back on track. After leading Serie A in scoring during the 2013/14 season, he never settled at Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla (who still owns his rights)
He returned to Torino on loan to finish the current season, but his future remains rather uncertain. immobile could go to his hometown team Napoli, who is looking for a backup to Higuain with Gabbiadini on his way out- the partenopei recently lost to Milan in the race for Lapadula so Immobile could be a good fit. After playing in their youth teams, Immobile could return to Juventus but that would only be an option should Zaza leave for the Premier League.
See you next Tuesday for another round of Transfer Talk…
David Amoyal is the manager of the English page on Gianluca Di Marzio's website where he also writes weekly articles. David covers transfer news for ESPN, and has appeared on numerous radio shows on Sirius XM in the US as well as TalkSport in the UK. David is the former editor in chief of Vavel USA and his articles have been featured in many sites around the world. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidAmoyal
