Resigning, perhaps wisely, from his job at Valencia after just a few months in charge, Cesare Prandelli is grabbing the headlines in Italy on Wednesday, particularly in Gazzetta dello Sport, with whom he sat down to discuss the details of his departure.
The Italian manager, who made it clear he wanted to bring West Ham’s Simone Zaza to bolster his attack, revealed to the Spanish radio on Tuesday that Valencia’s transfer ultimatum of having to choose between a striker and a midfielder was the straw that broke the camel’s back and led to him stepping down.
However, Prandelli went into a bit more detail for Gazzetta, and revealed exactly how close they were to bringing in Zaza from West Ham via Juventus.
He said: “We were close with Juventus. We spoke with the father, Antonio, and asked him permission to speak with Simone. He has character, personality, and he agreed [the move] and we were expecting him on the 28th [of December] for the first training session.
“We couldn’t waste time. Then, the club blocked everything and the vice president told me in a videoconference on the 29th of December that I had 24 hours to choose between a striker and a midfielder.”
Zaza, who is very unlikely to make another appearance under Slaven Bilic at the London Stadium, will now have to wait and see if other clubs turn their interest into an offer.
Much like Valencia, the player struggled during the first half of the season, failing to register either a goal or an assist in 11 appearances for the Hammers.
