By The summer is moving along, and so are Bologna doing in the transfer market. After the early announcement of Mitchel Dijks on a free transfer from Ajax, and the departure of Simone Verdi to Napoli, Bologna have announced two new signings.
First of those was that of Arturo Calabresi, a young defender coming from Roma having never played in Serie A. I cannot say that I know much about him, although I do know that he is capable to play at right back as well as his preferred position in central defence. This should bode well for what is rumored to be Filippo Inzaghi’s preferred system of 3-5-2.
Given his limited experience at the top-level, there has already been talk of a potential loan move for him. This will undoubtedly be considered as the pre-season commences, but I think it is safe to assume that he will be part of the squad during pre season, at least. Calabresi has signed a contract stretching to 2022, and this is definitely one for the future.
The other signing that was confirmed yesterday was that of Federico Santander. Like Calabresi, he too has signed a contract until 2022, but he is expected to make an impact right away.
He is a very strong, physical striker, and will most likely be a handful for most Serie A-defenders the upcoming season. 48 goals in 112 games for FC Copenhagen are decent numbers, and if Bologna manage to give him a more prolific partner up front in the 3-5-2 system, we could have a lot to look forward to.
I got to say, Santander looks like a great striker. I have not seen a lot of him, but it is clear that he excels in the air. Despite his size and physicality, he is still agile and he has got a great shot from distance as well. He will, of course, need some time to settle in, as the transition from Denmark to Italy is quite big, but given his wide range of finishing abilities, he should hive us plenty of joy over the upcoming season.
Check out the video below for some highlights from his time at FC Copenhagen.
But the transfers do not stop there. Yesterday, Roma published a photo on Twitter of Antonio Mirante having a medical, and the GK is part of a swap deal which will see Lukasz Skorupski move to Bologna. At 27 years old, he is entering the prime age for a GK, and this move is likely to be announced officially today.
With Skorupski, Bologna have upgraded on Mirante, and they have with that strengthened the most necessary positions. With a couple of more additions, Bologna will have done a very good job in the mercato, and we are still to enter into July. This bodes well for the upcoming season, and credit is due to Riccardo Bigon.
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What is interesting about the departure of Mirante is the fact that Inzaghi now must appoint a new captain. This is something which I discussed in the last blog post, 5 things Inzaghi must address. My shout is Andrea Poli, and it will be interesting to see what Inzaghi decides to do.
Until next time.
Photo: Bologna FC
SempreBologna.com 