Torino sporting director Gianluca Petrachi says talks for Joe Hart were “very quick and very calm”.
The Manchester City goalkeeper joined the Granata on a season-long loan, a move which surprised many, but it appears the deal was done fairly easily.
“It was something which grew immediately,” Petrachi told Sky Italia.
Torino sporting director Gianluca Petrachi says talks for Joe Hart were “very quick and very calm”.
The Manchester City goalkeeper joined the Granata on a season-long loan, a move which surprised many, but it appears the deal was done fairly easily.
“It was something which grew immediately,” Petrachi told Sky Italia.
“We had decided to take [Emiliano] Viviano but then Sampdoria didn’t want to sell the player. The agent Vigorelli said he wanted to do something about it, and that he was in contact with Hart’s agent.
“So I thought that if City helped to pay part of his wages then it’d be a great opportunity, but I didn’t want to be that ‘idiot’ who you tout the lad to before giving him to someone else.
“We evaluated whether or not he wanted to come here, and we were all happy. [Coach Sinisa] Mihajlovic welcome him with open arms and he also found Attilio Lombardo here, who he knew from Manchester City.
“We’re pleased, it was a quick thing but also a calm one. I tried to keep everything as discreet as possible.”
Petrachi was also asked about the defence, with Nikola Maksimovic forcing a move to Napoli after going on strike, and Jozo Simunovic’s move from Celtic falling-through.
“Maksimovic changed his mind and his approach was not to show up anymore. We sold him very well though.
“I wanted Bruno Henrique, but we hadn’t seen him in person and didn’t want to do it like that and he went to Palermo.
“Simunovic, meanwhile, was physically fit but the doctors had some doubts. We were thinking about a loan with an obligation to buy after minimal games, but Celtic didn’t want to do that.
“What did Maksimovic change his mind about? Talking to the Coach, he said he’d stay with a higher salary. So we sat down and talked with him about very big numbers, treating him as a top player.
“Then – perhaps on someone’s recommendation – he disappeared overnight, leaving a lot of embarrassment. He changed the deal, he said he’d stay.
“He put us in serious difficulty, but we don’t hold grudges.
“We knew that Napoli was the first choice for Maksimovic, and we knew we had them in our hands from certain points of view, and the fact that different centre-backs hadn’t moved raised the price, as well as the interest from some English clubs.
“As well as being a good sale, we managed to reach a target we’d had for a long time in [Mirko] Valdifiori.”