Mercato predictions: Who’s staying & who’s leaving?

Before I get to the gist of this post, I’ll make the only prediction that will turn out to be correct, I will most certainly not make correct predictions for every player, and you are hereby warned.

During the second part of the season as Bologna struggled to maintain their good start to the season, it became apparent that the squad needed strengthening, both on the pitch, but also off it. Roberto Donadoni is now history, and work is ongoing to find Bologna’s next head coach. Filippo Inzaghi is the most likely name at the moment, but as he is currently preoccupied with Venezia in the Serie B playoffs, it will still be sometime before we learn about his potential arrival.

Nevertheless, Riccardo Bigon and his team is working on strengthening the squad, and there will undoubtedly be some squad movement this summer. In this post, I’ll try my best to assess the current squad, making predictions about who’s staying, and who’s not.

Goalkeepers

Antonio Mirante has been linked with a move away, and as he struggled throughout the season, it would be a sensible decision to move him on, and find a new, better first choice. Angelo da Costa will most likely stay, as will Antonio Santurro. There have not been any rumors about any of the latter two, and although neither of them are good enough to be first choice, they are decent back-up players.

Defenders

The defenders that were bought last summer, Giancarlo Gonzalez and Sebastien De Maio will most likely stay, even though neither of them played to the best of their abilities. Gonzalez was the best of them though, and he should be Bologna’s first choice next summer, hopefully alongside a new signing. Ibrahima M’baye should stay, and he is currently rumored to have been offered a new contract. Filip Helander should be staying at the club, although Chievo have been rumored to be interested in the Swedish defender.

There are question marks around the likes of Vasilis Torosidis, Emil Krafth and Adam Masina. The latter has been offered a new contract as he has only got one year left on his current deal, but bigger clubs are rumored to be interested in him, and it may well be that he will leave the club. Bologna have already acquired a new left back in Mitchell Dijks, and that may well be a sign that Masina is off. Neither Torosidis nor Krafth impressed this season, and Bologna could well part their way with them. However, there have not been any rumors about their potential departure.

Last but not least, Simone Romagnoli and Cheick Keita are currently at the club on loan, but Bologna have got an option to buy both of them. Both players impressed when called upon towards the end of the season, and in my humble opinion, those options should be utilized. We’ll know soon enough.

Midfielders

Adam Nagy, Andrea Poli and Blerim Dzemaili will all likely stay at the club. The latter two should be starting in mifield alongside Erick Pulgar next season. However, Sampdoria have been rumored to be interested in Pulgar, not surprising given the strong season behind him. Bologna should be doing everything they can in order to keep the regista. As for Nagy, he is very talented but never came to his right this season. However, hopefully he’ll get more chances next season under the next coach.

Lorenzo Crisetig is a player that the club should be looking to part their ways with this summer. He played his part as backup to the brilliant Pulgar his season, and it became very apparent that he does not have what it takes to fill the Chilean’s role in midfield. Godfred Donsah is another player who might leave this summer. The speculation around the young midfielder has been ongoing for some time, and he was strongly linked with Torino in January. It would be a shame if he were to leave though, as he is very talented, and he could thrive under a new coach.

Attackers

Riccardo Orsolini has still got one year left of his loan deal, and will most definitely stay at the club. The same will César Falletti  and Federico Di Francesco. Neither of them managed to have a great season at the club, but especially the latter should do better next season. Given the anticipated departure of Verdi, either of these two players should be trying to fill the void left by him. Felipe Avenatti is currently on loan at the club, but the club do have an option on him that is expected to be utilized.

There are a lot of question marks in attack. Ladislav Krejci struggled to make an impact this season, playing only 392 minutes. It will be interesting to see what happens with him this summer, as he could well be decent player to have at the club, especially in the correct system. That depends on the new coach’s plans. Rodrigo Palacio‘s contract expires after this season, and he has been offered a new one. However, he has used quite some time thinking about the offer, and he might well want to go back home to Argentina. That would be a huge loss, and a striker should be on top of Bigon’s list this summer, regardless of what Palacio decides.

Mattia Destro is an interesting case. He struggled this season to even make the team, and given the interest from England in January, he might well leave this summer. However, if Inzaghi is the one to take over the reigns from Donadoni, that might change. Inzaghi has worked with Destro before, and he might well want to give the striker another chance at the club. The potential is undoubtedly there, the question is whether the will and desire is there as well. Last but not least, Simone Verdi. After declining Napoli’s offer in January, he is almost certain to leave this summer. In addition to Napoli, Roma and Inter are rumored to be interested in him, and Bologna will receive quite the fee for him, which would go a long way into strengthening the squad.

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Of course, there are also some players that have been out on loan this season. The likes of Luca Rizzo, Marios Oikonomou and Alex Ferrari have been out on loan, but neither of them are likely to return to the club for a place in the first team squad. Orji Okwonkwo will likely return to the club for pre season having impressed last autumn scoring three goals for Bologna.

As stated above, my predictions will undoubtedly not be correct, and we’ll find out soon enough what will happen. Do you agree with my predictions? Let me know in the comments down below!

*After writing this post, it has come to my attention that Vasilis Torosidis and Angelo Da Costa are both out of contract in June. Given that there have not been any rumors about potential contract renewals, they will most likely leave the club at the end of the month.

Photo: Bologna FC