Udinese’s WinterMercato, a.k.a. Keepin’ the Squad Together

By: vin | December 31st, 2008

Let’s start off with a quick round-up of the the transfer rumors involving Zebrette, shall we?

Floro Flores has been linked with Napoli in the past, but he insists that he’s happy with Udinese.
There haven’t been any concrete offers for Handanovic, so it looks like he’s sticking around… for the time being, at least.
D’Agostino says he’s staying put. Juventus want him though, or so it’s said.
Then again, Juventus are also rumored to want Inler and Zapata too. <Look Juve… just because your shirts are black and white too doesn’t mean you can just raid our closet at will, OK? That is, unless you want to give up say… Giovinco. Or Chiellini. Or Legrottaglie. Not interested? Didn’t think so.>
Seriously though, Juve and Udinese have allegedly had *actual talks.*
Anyway, if Juventus want Inler, they might have to duke it out with Arsenal, it seems, and I’m seeing (from totally unreliable sources, mind you), figures in the £8-10 million range being tossed about.
Di Natale is staying until June, at least. Then he’s going to Roma, or wherever Spalletti happens to be coaching next year, assuming he and Ancelotti finally make out swap places. OK. That part about Roma is just conjecture, but seriously… if Spalletti’s still there, fuhgeddaboutit. Toto con Totti.
Marino’s job is safe, says Pozzo.
Sanchez says he wants ManYoo. I say keep wishing, Alexis.
Last but not least, our only INCOMING *shock!* transfer rumor says that Udinese are moving toward a co-ownership deal (with Inter Milan of all teams) for Jonathan Biabiany, a 20 year-old attacking midfielder or striker (depending on what you read) who’s currently out on loan with Modena. Call me underwhelmed.

Train wreck, right? And now, for my completely well-informed hunch-based analysis:

Let’s start with the rumor that worries me the most: Inler. Honestly, if I had to pick one item from the above linkfest to be true, it would be Inler to Arsenal. Look – the guy’s not Italian, which means that for all intents and purposes has no familial link to the peninsula. The dude’s from Switzerland. Has chocolate, will travel. Plus, this rumor has been one persistent sone of a b!tch, and the fact that numbers are actually being thrown around is unsettling.

The second most concern-worthy rumor on my list isn’t actually even a rumor… and that’s exactly what bothers me. Specifically, does anybody else think it’s weird that the word Quagliarella hasn’t come up at all in mercato talk? It’s not like he’s having a bad season. As the expression goes, it’s always the quiet ones…

*EDIT* A day after I wrote this post, Quags is linked with Roma for “next season,” though Roma are denying it.

Next up is D’Agostino. Juve are completely hot and bothered for this guy, and it freaks me out. (Don’t tell Juve this, but D’Agostino IS awesome, and they are rightfully enamored.) The pre-Christmas talk thing does not make me happy, and if I had to guess I’d say that D’Agostino – *not* Inler – was the main topic of discussion. OK, maybe Zapata was talked about too, but do we care? I mean… Zapata hasn’t played since Band Aid. D’Agostino however, is ABOUT AS VITAL AS IT GETS when it comes to Udinese’s midfield. Actually, I’d even value him a hair higher than Inler. That said, if Udinese are set to lose D’Agostino to The Old Lady, that little granny HAD BETTER EMPTY HER DAMN MATTRESS.

Last on my radar-of-concern (but still on there) are Marino, Di Natale, and Handanovic. While I don’t expect any to bolt from Friuli during this window (knock on wood), I wouldn’t be surprised if Udinese lost at least two of the three in the summer. Pozzo vouched for Marino, but it sounded like he’s only guaranteed through the end of this campaign. Meanwhile, Di Natale is well… Di Natale and there’s definitely been interest in the guy for the last couple of years; I don’t expect that such interest would dry up instantly, nor do I expect that a garbage run like Udinese are having would give Toto the warm ‘n’ fuzzies about Friuli. That said, he’s publicly stated that he wants to help Udinese out of this mess, and I think that’ll take until June at least. Now, as for Handanovic, the fact that the only evidence his agent can muster to back the ‘he’s staying put’ argument is that they haven’t had any concrete offers… well… that doesn’t exactly bode well. It’s a shame, too. Handanovic is a good starter for Udinese, but I think he’d be wasted as a backup on say… Milan, Roma, Inter or Juve.

That’s all for now. All that’s left is to see what happens; I’ll be watching out for really noteworthy stuff (i.e. not just rumors).