Transfer expectations

The season is over and the summer is upon us. With the summer comes the question of transfers. Who will Bologna buy this summer? What positions do they want to strengthen before going into the new season? Which players might leave? In this post will I try to assess the squad and give my opinion about what needs to be strengthened. It is going to be an interesting summer as the owner, Joey Saputo, has said that the squad will be strengthened and that we have the means to do so.

Goalkeepers:

Antonio Mirante is a great GK, and Angelo Da Costa is a good second choice. Additionally, the two promising GK’s Federico Ravaglia and Mouhamadou Sarr give us hope for the future. No strengthening required.

Defense:

In central defense there are a lot of options with Daniele Gastaldello, Domenico Maietta, Filip Helander and Marios Oikonomou. However, with the first two being quite old, and Oikonomou rumoured to be on his way out, this area will need to be strengthened. Several players have been linked, for instance Eduardo Goldaniga and Giancarlo Gonzalez in Palermo, and Andrea Ranocchia in Inter.

The full backs will also need strengthening, in particularly the left hand side. Adam Masina needs competition in order to develop. On the right hand side there are several options in Emil Krafth, Vasilis Torosidis and Ibrahim Mbaye. Mbaye showed promising signs towards the end of the season and should be given more matches next season.

Midfield:

The midfield consists of a lot of players, but will also be needing some strengthening. Dzemaili’s departure has left a hole which needs to be filled. Several players have been linked, among the Filip Bradaric from Croatia, and Andrea Poli at AC Milan. One addition will probably be enough, as Erick Pulgar, Saphir Taider, Adam Nagy, Godfred Donsah and Luca Rizzo give us plenty of options.

Attack:

The attack is perhaps the area which needs most work to be done in the transfer marked. Simone Verdi arrived last summer and had a great season, as did Ladislav Krejci, and these two players will hopefully improve going into next season. Federico Di Francesco showed great promise and should play a greater part next season. Mattia Destro will be our main man up top, but he needs more competition. Bruno Petkovic arrived in January and will hopefully develop and give us more goals. The young and promising Orji Okwonkwo gives us hope for the future as he played quite well when called upon this season. Anyway, we need to reinforce this area, either with a typical number 9, or with a wide forward. Players that have been linked include Josip Ilicic from Fiorentina and Alessio Cerci from Atletico Madrid.

All in all a busy summer is ahead of us as all areas of the field will most likely be strengthened. Stay tuned for transfer news in here!

#rossoblù