Verdi leaving is sad, but there is a silver lining

Yesterday, the official announcement of Simone Verdi’s transfer to Napoli came. Even though we have known for some time now that he would be leaving this summer, it still brought sadness when I saw the news.

I wont deny it, I have spent a considerable amount of time wallowing in YouTube-videos of Verdi during the past few weeks, watching his brilliance over and over again.

10 goals and 10 assists this season. A leader. Hard-working. Technical qualities out of this world. His free-kicks.

But, above all else, his loyalty.

As you are aware of, Napoli wanted Verdi way back in January, but he politely declined their offer saying that he could not leave Bologna in mid-season. It is rare to find loyalty in modern football, but Verdi has it.

Now, Bologna must go forward into a new season, not only under a new coach, but also without their main man the past season. It is sad to see such a talented player leave the club after only two seasons, but that is the life of a club the size of Bologna.

This brings me to my next point, because there is indeed a silver lining here. The money the club gets from Napoli will go a long way into strengthening the squad. 25 million euros is a lot of money for the club (although some of it will go to Milan).

That the squad needs altering this summer is no secret, but the organization is also working on alterations of the stadium, and some of the money will go towards that as well.

Think back to when Bologna sold Amadou Diawara to Napoli two years ago. In just a years time, Bologna made a huge profit from the talented midfielder, which helped them bring in the likes of Federico Di Francesco, Adam Nagy and others, alongside Verdi.

The Verdi-money will now allow Bologna to bring better players to the club, it will allow them to shop at a finer store, and even though we have lost our best player, we should still be able to improve the team this summer. The sporting director Riccardo Bigon is already working on bringing in new players, and with a new coach as well, I am optimistic.

Therefore, Bologna-fans should not pity themselves having lost Verdi, but rather see this as what it is, an opportunity for the club to grow, an opportunity to develop into a bigger club. We may have lost Verdi now, but the future is nevertheless bright.

Until next time.