Once upon a time, the Italian market did not look anyone in the face. Once upon a time, our clubs had no qualms about going to get the best. Once upon a time, the transfer market did not take into account balance sheets, financial fair play, capital gains or losses. Now everything is different, and it is certainly not new, and the situation we are experiencing in these last hours in Serie A, on the negotiation front, is proof of this. Everything, or at least a lot, revolves around one name: that of Teun Koopmeiner. The Dutch midfielder has been Juventus’ top target for months to strengthen the squad ahead of the season that is about to officially begin, but convincing Atalanta won’t be easy, as demonstrated by yesterday’s words from Luca Percassi, CEO of the Goddess: “He’s still here, like the other days. Nothing has changed.” And that “nothing” has a very specific meaning: for Atalanta, Koopmeiners continues to be unsellable.
Nico Gonzalez and a future that depends on Koopmeiners.
But how is the transfer market of Italian clubs intertwined around the name of the Dutchman? The first thing to say is related to the possible future of Nico Gonzalez. In the press conference after the end of last season, Fiorentina’s sporting director, Daniele Pradè, answered a specific question that the Argentine would remain in purple 99%. That 1% makes all the difference in the world, because either you close the door completely or you leave something open, a crack, a chink or whatever it is. As of today, with less than a month of the transfer market still to go, the feeling is that Nico could leave Fiorentina and the two clubs most interested are Atalanta and Juventus. If no one else comes along, who will win? The answer seems easy: Gonzalez will go to the one who will have to give up Koopmeiners, given that Atalanta could take him by spending the money received from Juventus, or the Bianconeri should turn to him, already having a nest egg much larger than what the viola would cost.
Fiorentina and Genoa await.
And if Nico Gonzalez’s future depends on Koopmeiners, we can probably say the same thing when thinking about Albert Gudmundsson, who would be the other piece of the domino that would fall. Fiorentina has in fact returned to the Icelander, but at least for the moment it seems difficult to think that the player could arrive regardless of the sale of Nico Gonzalez. Gudmundsson would be his replacement, with different characteristics, for Raffaele Palladino, and that’s why everything revolves, once again, around the name of Koop.
August 14th is the watershed date.
How long will it take to have a clearer picture? It’s impossible to say in the transfer market, but even in this case we’re talking about feelings. And the one that seems to be closest to reality leads us to think that next August 14 could be the first border. In Warsaw, the UEFA Super Cup will take place between Atalanta and Real Madrid, a super challenge that the Goddess wants to play at her best and with the best. Koopmeiners is one of those, and we’re ready to bet that Gasperini will do everything to have the Dutchman available. From the day after, things will change, at least in part, and who knows, maybe Juventus will really manage to take their dream of the summer. Which would trigger the domino effect that also concerns Nico Gonzalez and Albert Gudmundsson.