Alessio Buongiorno, no chance of leaving Torino this month. Jose Mourinho and Paulo Dybala again together? Casemiro to join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi. Here are some of the main stories over the last few days of the transfer market from TribalFootball’s transfer expert Rudy Galetti.
AC MILAN – BUONGIORNO A SUMMER GIFT?
AC Milan have had Torino defender Alessandro Buongiorno in their sights for some time. The Rossoneri, as is well known, are facing a series of injuries that have decimated the defence with Stefano Pioli forced, in recent weeks, to use Theo Hernandez as a centre-back.
However, Torino’s position has always been clear regarding a possible farewell of their jewel in this winter transfer session: Alessandro Buongiorno is not for sale, at least until the summer.
Despite numerous rumours in recent weeks, there has never been a chance to change Torino president Urbano Cairo’s mind about a possible move in January. Otherwise, things could be different in June, when the Italian defender could leave his current club, but only for a significant offer: around 40 million euros for the 24-year-old player who has already made 17 appearances in this Serie A, scoring 3 goals.
An amount that, to date, AC Milan have no intention of paying, at least with this ownership, which could change – also – by the summer. In that case, the Rossoneri could have new liquidity from Arabia: who knows if Alessandro Buongiorno could become the first “gift” from the new ownership. We’ll just have to wait and see.
MOURINHO AND DYBALA – A NEW REUNION?
We talked about Jose Mourinho’s future a few weeks ago, confirming that the 2023/24 season was the Portuguese coach’s last on the AS Roma bench. His farewell in January only jumped the gun of a separation that would certainly arrive in June and accelerated a possible landing of the Special One in Saudi Arabia.
Last summer, Mourinho refused a huge offer from there, but now Al Shabab are trying to take the opportunity to immediately convince him to face a new challenge: that’s why – in recent days – the Saudi club approached Mourinho to explain its project. The Portuguese manager is open to evaluate the idea of coaching in the Saudi League, however, talks are on hold and will continue only when the Saudi negotiator will have confirmation of the budget available for Josè. At the moment, therefore, nothing is done: the Portuguese coach will use this period to calmly think about his future.
Whatever his choice, Josè could also bring with him a first reinforcement: Paulo Dybala. The Argentine player has no plans to leave AS Roma in this transfer session, but is open to evaluate proposals for the next season – also from Saudi Arabia – especially if the club is coached by Mourinho. At the same time, the Giallorossi are working to extend the contract of Paulo, expiring in 2025, but – to date – he’s more inclined to start a new experience elsewhere.
KOOPMEINERS – WANTED BY SERIE A ELITE
Teun Koopmeiners is undoubtedly one of the fittest midfielders in Serie A. With 5 goals scored and 3 assists provided so far, the Dutch player has been one of the absolute protagonists of Atalanta in this first part of season.
This is why some top Italian clubs are monitoring him and consider Teun a concrete target in June. Among these there are both Juventus – which aim to strengthen the midfield in the summer to “replace” the suspended Paul Pogba – and Napoli. The Italian champions will almost certainly lose Piotr Zielinski at the end of the season, as his contract expires and he has no intention of renewing it at the proposed salary.
For this reason, the Polish player already reached an agreement in principle with Inter Milan for a transfer as a free agent. With Zielinski’s farewell, Napoli have identified Koopmeiners – whose contract with Atalanta expires in 2027 – as the ideal profile to replace Piotr. It won’t be easy, however, to convince his current club: Atalanta are asking for at least 45/50 million euros to evaluate an offer for the Dutch midfielder, considered a key player by Giampiero Gasperini.
CASEMIRO AND AL NASSR – MORE THAN A SUGGESTION
Casemiro is not fully involved in Manchester United’s project, he has one of the highest salaries in the entire Premier League and this season the level of his performances is absolutely not up to expectations, with only 8 games and 649 minutes played.
For these reasons, United would like to let him go as soon as possible, to monetise his sale. Not only that: also the Brazilian midfielder would like to leave the English club soon, that’s why the player’s agent is working to find a new destination elsewhere. Among others, in recent weeks, Casemiro has been proposed to Al Nassr. The Saudi club has shown interest in him and the suggestion of playing with Cristiano Ronaldo again, therefore, can become real. To date, there have been no other concrete contacts, but Al Nassr are planning to organise a new round of negotiations to better understand the conditions of his transfer.
The Saudi club’s goal would have been to speed things up to strengthen the midfield as early as January, but at the moment the most likely option seems to be a move next summer. Not to be forgotten that also Al Ahli are on his tracks: they are still looking for a new midfielder and Casemiro is among the main profiles – together with Luka Modric – to strengthen the squad in this role.
GALATASARAY TAKING FIRST STEPS FOR KAMADA
After the great excitement for his arrival in the summer as a free agent, the season of Daichi Kamada so far is certainly not satisfying Lazio fans. Close to AC Milan at the beginning of the summer – with the Rossoneri who, after having reached an agreement in principle with him, then decided to change their transfer strategy – on 4 August 2023 Kamada officially became a Lazio player, highly sought after by Maurizio Sarri who for years has appreciated his qualities at Eintracht Frankfurt.
However, the environmental difficulties did not allow the Japanese player to integrate well into the Biancocelesti squad. Only 1 goal and 1 assist so far for Daichi, in 729 minutes played in 20 games. Certainly not an easy period in his career: this is why Galatasaray got in touch with the player to understand the margins of a possible negotiation to relaunch his growth.
Kamada has given his ok to explore the possible proposal and project of the Turkish club, however Lazio – at the moment – are not willing to let him go. His contract expires in June, there is a three-year renewal option that the parties are discussing, but without rush. The feeling is that the Italian club will keep Daichi in this January transfer window, but – at the same time – wants to take some more time in this second part of the season before making a definitive decision on his future.
