Serie A will resume after the annual Winter Break this weekend, and the race for the title couldn’t be closer. Napoli lead reigning champions Juventus by just one point after 20 games, the Partenopei seemingly closer than ever to getting their hands on that coveted Scudetto trophy. Indeed, Maurizio Sarri’s side have 10 more points than at this time last season, with their dynamic passing style becoming more and more difficult for other sides to beat.
Yet there remains a major concern over the rotation policy of the former Empoli boss, with 10 players in his squad having started over 15 of the 20 Serie A matches so far this term. The famous front three of Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon have felt the burden of their importance to the coach in particular – having started 18, 19 and 20 games respectively – and simply cannot carry on at this pace.
It was vital that the club find a solution to this problem in the January transfer window, as any kind of crash and burn for the trio could end up costing Sarri’s side the title. However, when they approached Bologna forward Simone Verdi, it seemed like their dilemma had been solved.
The 25-year-old has set the league alight with some stunning strikes this year, including one apiece versus AC Milan and Inter. His six goals and five assists so far certainly don’t tell the full story of just how fantastic his form has been this term, and it has not gone unnoticed by Napoli either.
Able to play on the left, the right or in the middle of a front three, Verdi could effectively substitute any one of Insigne, Mertens and Callejon, allowing the overworked trio to take turns at taking a rest. Furthermore the Bologna forward has played for the Coach before, the Lombardy-native having spent a year helping Empoli to promotion to Serie B back when Sarri was in charge at the Tuscan club.
Bologna chief executive Claudio Fenucci revealed that Napoli had made an acceptable bid for the player, and so it seemed like this “perfect” deal would go through without any issues. But there was a big problem. Simone Verdi decided to politely decline the offer, opting to remain with the mid-table Rossoblu rather than sign up to take part in the title race.
Mattia Destro does brilliantly to beat his man and wait for that finish from Simone Verdi. 😲
AC Milan are pegged back by Bologna.
Tune in to BT Sport 3 HD to see how this one pans out. 📺
“I’m flattered by the offer, and I did think about it, but in the end I came back to my decision,” the player explained to Sky Italia. “Napoli let me know of their appreciation and affection, I’m flattered but I didn’t want to leave Bologna now. There were moments of reflection, I knew the league leaders wanted me. With great calm though I decided to stay here. It was entirely my choice.”
Was his rejection a lack of ambition, or did it make sense? It didn’t seem to be the latter as Verdi’s comments made it clear that he was not rejecting the offer out of hand, rather that he didn’t want to make the move to Naples immediately. Perhaps the more likely explanation that he didn’t trust Sarri – a tactician wedded to his starting lineup and formation discussed in this previous post – to put him in the starting XI.
It was a bold move that could certainly pay off if the forward continues to develop at the same rate with Bologna. In the same interview, he reveals that former Empoli team-mate Lorenzo Tonelli tried to persuade him to join him at Napoli, but his story would surely provide a warning to the contrary.
He too would have thought that joining a boss that knew him so well would lead to a successful stint at the Stadio San Paolo, but defender Tonelli has found himself frozen out, excluded from the Champions League squad, and without a single second of action in 2017/18.
Simone Verdi is clearly of the opinion that moving clubs is not always the key to success. Making the right move at the right time is what so many players fail to understand, and now this forward can spend the second half of the season in the shop window at Bologna. Maybe Napoli will come back in for him at the end of the campaign, or an even better move could manifest itself. One thing is for sure, this player has made a bold move, leaving Napoli going back to the drawing board.
