The lack of football to report on currently has led to some transfer stories taking centre stage in Italy, and the future of Fiorentina’s Federico Bernardeschi is the main focus of Thursday’s edition of Corriere dello Sport.
The 23-year-old forward has been in fine form this season, scoring 13 goals and assisting five times in 35 appearances in all competitions, which has attracted some interest from abroad.
According to the Italian sports newspaper, it’s Chelsea’s Antonio Conte who are the likeliest from the Premier League to make an approach in the summer, with the former Juventus manager having ‘always been an admirer’ of the young attacker.
Of course, a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer would be expensive, and would see the player earn a rather substantial pay rise, yet there are some strong arguments for Bernardeschi staying at least an extra year in Italy and ignore the advances from England (and Germany).
An uncontested starter at Fiorentina, next season could be crucial for the youngster to earn a spot in Gian Piero Ventura’s squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and sitting on a bench at Stamford Bridge fighting against the likes of Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro for a starting spot doesn’t sound like the wisest of moves.
The lure of a bigger paycheque will certainly be looming this summer, with some teams in Italy also said to be interested, and it will be interesting to see how strong Bernardeschi’s will is over the course of the transfer window.
