Atalanta are down to the final details with Galatasaray to sign Italy international Nicolò Zaniolo on loan with option to buy for a total €17m.
Fiorentina and Villarreal had shown an interest in the forward, but over the last 24 hours it became clear that the player had chosen a move to Bergamo instead.
According to Sky Sport Italia and Calciomercato.com, it will be a paid loan period plus option to buy for a total of circa €17m.
There are also some conditions that would make it an obligation to make the move permanent at the end of the season.
Those are the details being whittled down now, which could see it activated if he appears in 70 per cent of Atalanta’s competitive games throughout the campaign.
Zaniolo wants Serie A return for Atalanta
Today is Zaniolo’s 25th birthday and he was forced to withdraw from the Italy squad at EURO 2024 due to a fractured metatarsal.
He sustained that injury during a loan spell at Aston Villa, who did not take up their option to buy.
The Azzurri man left Roma for Galatasaray at a cost of €15m in February 2023 and has been pushing hard for a return to Serie A.
Finally, some good news. Italian players need to play in Italy and under best coaches.
I agree, or if they don’t get selected by the serie a clubs, go abroad and get some playing time. It’s a disgrace that there are so few Italians playing in the first team in Serie A. Every tournament it comes down to the same issues. Not enough quality, not enough Italians playing in the serie a, not enough opportunities for the youth to enter the first team etc. The bigger clubs want results now with quick fixes and buying average players for huge sums of money that don’t pan out. It’s all about the business side of things when running the clubs.