Midfield Options

By: bingitz2002 | August 29th, 2008

Although season previews are going up all over the place, I’m actually going to hold off on the Torino one until after the mercato closes (meaning after our first game) because I am of the opinion that these next few days of transfer activity could play a significant role in our performance this season. Mainly, how will we be reinforcing our midfield now that we’ve received a good bit of cash for Grella? There are more options than days left in the transfer market so hopefully we will have a new midfielder or two to present to the crowd when we take on Lecce. In this entry I will preview some of the players we could get to complete our team and discuss our chances of getting them.

A note to the readers: I cannot figure out how to get the pictures to display nicely. Can anyone with the know-how in Word Press give me some advice? Thanks!

Option 1: Matteo Brighi

Former Juve and Chievo midfielder now at Roma. He was widely considered to be the next big thing in Italian football, but it never quite panned out for him. He is behind Pizarro, De Rossi, and Aquilani in the pecking order with the giallorossi and could be tempted to leave for guaranteed first team football, with Torino and former club Chievo being the two most likely clubs to secure his signature. Despite the fact that he never really lived up to expectations, he is a solid all-around midfielder that would certainly boost Toro’s midfield play. However, after a few days of speculation his agent said that he will stay at Roma, but we can only wait until the end of the market to find out.

Option 2: Massimo Mutarelli

The 30 year-old midfielder has been having a torrid time at Lazio recently, failing to break into the first team after struggling all last season with injury. Despite this his a hard-working midfielder that can break up plays and has decent passing ability. If he were to stay fit and in-form he would certainly be able to fill the gap left by Vince Grella’s departure to Blackburn. He is looking for a way out of Lazio and Torino has expressed their interest. Although it was initially rumored that World Cup winning midfielder Simone Barone would be headed the other way as part of the deal, it seems that Torino would rather pay in cash, which is still a viable alternative.

Option 3: Fabio Firmani

Another Lazio midfielder who’s had a tough time in the past few years. He is very similar to Mutarelli in that he is very hard working and has good defensive abilities. However, I do not rate his attacking game too highly and since we do not have too many creative options it might be nice to have a midfielder that can step in and take that role if needed. After all, Abate is injured for the beginning of the season, Corini is pushing 40, and Rosina can be brilliant but is also notoriously inconsistent. Still, he wouldn’t be the worst option, especially if we were able to get someone else with more creative abilities.

Option 4: Ovidiu Petre

The Steaua Bucharest midfielder and Romanian international seemed to be the perfect fit for Torino a week or two ago. A well-rounded midfielder with Champions League and international experience who is fairly young (26, I believe) and wouldn’t be too cheap. Torino were offering €1 million while Steaua wanted €2 million. It seemed a deal could be reached but then Steaua qualified for the group stage of the Champions League and raised their asking price to €10 million, well out of Toro’s price range. It seems Toro are still looking for a deal, but it is now unlikely.

Option 5: Mark Edusei

Ghanian midfielder Mark Edusei has been linked with a return to Torino over the past few weeks after Walter Zenga made it clear he is not in the first-team plans at Catania. Edusei played for Toro in the 2005-2006 ‘rebuilding’ season and made some important contributions in helping us secure promotion back to Serie A. After that season though, Edusei left for Catania and although he initially played an important role in the team’s midfield he struggled with injury. His last appearance for Catania was in the first leg of the team’s Coppa Italia semifinal against Roma. Edusei is a decent midfielder who isn’t great on the ball but can pass and defend reasonably well. If he came to Toro it would certainly be as a backup and probably not as a replacement for Grella. The good news is that he could be available for peanuts, making him a smart backup choice.

Option 6: Cristian Ledesma

The chances of Toro securing Argentine regista Cristian Ledesma are slim, but he has nonetheless been linked to us by Gazzetta dello Sport. Ledesma would be a huge addition to our midfield with excellent passing ability and the capability to track back if necessary. However, I have not seen many credible news articles linking him to us and the asking price would probably be very steep considering he seems to be part of Delio Rossi’s first-team plans at Lazio this season. Very unlikely that he would come, but would certainly be a welcome signing.

Option 7: Blerim Dzemaili

This Macedonian-born Swiss international currently plays for Bolton in the Premier League though he has so far failed to break into the first team, partly as a result of injury struggles. Nonetheless, he is a capable midfielder who was a part of the Swiss World Cup squad in 2006. Also, at age 22 he has a long career ahead of him and if he develops properly he could be a solid acquisition for us. Furthermore, he is available for under €1 million meaning he would certainly be within our price range and could represent good value for money. Speculation has cooled off in the past day or two but he could still make the move.

Option 8: Alexander Tettey

The Ghanian-born Norwegian international has attracted the interest of numerous clubs after a series of strong performances for his Norwegian club Rosenborg. He is a defensive midfielder, but other than that I don’t know a whole lot about him. Doesn’t seem like the most likely candidate out of the nine profiled here to come to the Olimpico, but I will keep myself open to his arrival in Turin. Rosenborg are asking €2 million for him.

Option 9: Stephen Appiah

Added to my list as I was writing this, but Stephan Appiah has been linked with a return to Turin, this time possibly with Torino. After leaving the flies for Fenerbahçe in Turkey, Appiah had a fantastic first season. However, a series of bungles by the Fenerbahçe medical staff left Appiah injured and unable to play despite having surgery and extensive recuperation time. It turns out that Appiah had life-threatening blood clots in his legs that weren’t discovered until he went to Italy for treatment. He rescinded his contract with Fenerbahçe in the spring and is now a free agent. He has since recovered from his affliction and has been training with Brescia. He could move back to Turin, both i gobbi and ourselves have now been linked with him. His family already lives in Turin, which would provide a significant boost for his chances to return there. Although he is ex-Juve, he could be tempted by the promise of first-team football at Torino whereas across the city he would be fourth or fifth choice in the central midfield. The fact that he is a free agent could make this a truly bargain signing if Cairo and Pederzoli were to pull it off and would certainly going a long ways towards repairing the relations between the management and fans.

Who will it be?

That’s a good question. I’m going to rate 1-10 the chances of these players coming with 1 being very unlikely and 10 being very likely:

Brighi - 6
Mutarelli - 8
Firmani - 6
Petre - 4
Edusei - 6
Ledesma - 2
Dzemaili - 5
Tettey - 5
Appiah - 6

My guess? By the end of the transfer window we will probably have Mutarelli and Edusei - though a pair of Ghanians, Appiah and Edusei would be out of the question.