Cagliari President Tommaso Giulini revealed he would speak to Bruno Alves over a summer transfer on Thursday but ruled out a move for Alessandro Matri.
Alves, who was sent off in Portugal’s 1-0 defeat to England on Monday, can leave Fenerbahce on a free transfer as his contract is due to expire, and Giulini planned to meet the defender after the Wembley friendly, plus secure a deal for Juventus loanee Andres Tello – but not former Cagliari striker Matri.
Cagliari President Tommaso Giulini revealed he would speak to Bruno Alves over a summer transfer on Thursday but ruled out a move for Alessandro Matri.
Alves, who was sent off in Portugal’s 1-0 defeat to England on Monday, can leave Fenerbahce on a free transfer as his contract is due to expire, and Giulini planned to meet the defender after the Wembley friendly, plus secure a deal for Juventus loanee Andres Tello – but not former Cagliari striker Matri.
“This evening I’ll meet Bruno Alves to see if he has the right hunger to join Cagliari,” he told Radiolina.
“We’ve already had a meeting, and we hope there will be a third one to finalise [his move].
“He has other teams following him: Porto, a French team and Fenerbahce for renewal. I didn’t think there was much of a chance, but it was the same with [Marco] Storari last year and then we saw how that went.
“Logically, we don’t have the economic strength to be able to compete with some clubs, so we’re counting on the will of the player. If it doesn’t happen with Bruno Alves then we’ll try a different profile of defender.
“[Sporting director Stefano] Capozucca is following two to three midfielders, who are his priorities.
“[Davide] Di Gennaro will stay at Cagliari. He’s is one of Coach’s favourite players, so I won’t rule out him renewing his contract.
“It’s not the case, however, that we have to renew everyone’s contracts now. [Di Gennaro] can renew in a few months.
“As for Tello, we’ll try to keep him. We’ll see if it’s permanently or on loan, but it’s also because he’d be used as a winger in a hypothetical 3-5-2, and this way the Coach will have the opportunity to work on two different systems from early on [in preseason].
“I feel the signings of [Alessandro] Matri or [Kevin] Lasagna can be ruled out. If a fifth striker comes in then it’d be a young lad.”