By Hey guys long time no see. I’ve been very busy and as a result, this site was put on the backburner for a year. Hopefully, Semprebologna will become a bit more active in the time ahead, so stay tuned.
Bologna had another mediocre season, finished 12th, and the rumours are circulating about players leaving and players coming in.
Thus far Bologna have secured the services of two new players. Kevin Bonifazi, officially a Spal player, but last season on loan at Udinese, has switched from one Emilia-Romagna club to another. The big defender will most likely replace Danilo, who’s contract expired in June.
We’ve also secured the services of dutch attacker Sidney van Hooijdonk, and, as expected, Bologna also exercised their options on Adama Soumaoro and Musa Barrow.
Then there is Marko «when will he Arriveovic» Arnautovic. He was rumored to be of interest to Bologna already in January, but the club was unsuccessful. Now, however, his Chinese club Shanghai Port are apparently open to rescinding his contract, paving way for him coming to Bologna. The deal has taken an incredible amount of time, firstly because of Austria’s participation in the Euros. A couple of days ago, suddenly Turkish clubs were interested in him, but he is still expected to chose Bologna having talked to both Sinisa Mihajlovic and Walter Sabatini.
We’ve also had several senior departures. Alongside the aforementioned Danilo, both Angelo da Costa and Rodrigo Palacio have left as their contracts expired.
Unfortunately, there might be a major departure this summer. Jerdy Schouten, Riccardo Orsolini, Mattias Svanberg, and, in particular, Takehiro Tomiyasu have all been linked to bigger clubs of late. Mihajlovic has gone on record saying that the club has promised him that only one major player will leave, and that player will most likely be the Japanese defender. He has been linked to Atalanta, Arsenal and Tottenham, and with the latter having secured the services of former Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici, it now seems as that will be Tomiyasu’s next club.
It was always expected that Tomiyasu would leave. His potential is enormous, and it was just a question of time. Now the big question is, how will he be replaced? A year ago, Mihajlovic said that the defender would be moved from right-back to central defence. Lorenzo De Silvestri came on a free transfer, and Tomiyasu moved into central defence. During the season, Tomiyasu still played a lot on the right side. Now, Gabriele Zappa of Cagliari has been linked as a potential replacement. Lyanco continues to be a hot name in central defence, and position which must be strengthened in addition to Kevin Bonifazi and Adama Soumaoro.
Then there is the question of the striker. With Arnautovic likely arriving, and the club spending considerably to acquire Barrow, will the club prioritize a striker? Arnautovic is similar to Palacio in many ways, but is way more aggressive than the Argentinian. Will Mihajlovic play Barrow out wide and the Austrian up front? Van Hooijdonk will not be ready to lead the line this season. The club has been rumored to be interested in Giovanni Simeone, a profile I like. With Tomiyasu likely to leave and fetching a considerable amount of money, the funds should be there to acquire both a new central defender, a right back, and a striker. Only time will tell.
PHOTO: Bologna FC
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