Cagliari signed Roberto Piccoli from Atalanta just a month ago for around twelve million, but the striker risks missing out on the Rossoblu at the end of the transfer window. "He's the kind of player who might get a crazy last-minute offer and leave," warned president Tommaso Giulini in an interview with Alberto Masu from the training camp in Ponte di Legno during the first episode of "Il Cagliari in Diretta Estate," the Videolina and Radiolina program that, starting today at 7:30 PM, will be following the Rossoblu's preseason training camp in Alta Val Camonica. The striker's value? Around thirty million.
Giulini opened up about Piccoli's departure by explaining how the club has currently built its attack. "It's hard to say what the team is missing right now," he analyzed. "It's fair to look at the first friendlies: I think we have a lot of players up front. We have two strong, young wingers in Luvumbo and Felici, two attacking midfielders in Gaetano and Cavuoti. We have Borrelli up front and Pavoletti in his final season who will want to perform better than ever. We have Vinciguerra, who is very keen to stay with us, and—specifically—Piccoli, who I believe is the eighth player I mentioned. Clearly, we'd like to keep him, but up front we need to cover ourselves in case of a last-minute departure of our striker. We already have a lot of players, and we'd like to see in the coming days where the squad might have some gaps ."
After Gennaro Borrelli, the next arrival will almost certainly be Michael Folorunsho: the former Verona and Fiorentina player is not among the squad for Napoli's training camp . "He's one of those coast-to-coast attacking midfielders with the physicality we're looking for," Giulini admitted. He then went on to speculate on his likely next signing : "He's one of the very first names on the list, a role and a skill we want to bring in. For the transfer market, at least in July, I think he's our only priority. I understand from director Angelozzi that the deal is nearing completion. I don't know if he'll arrive at the training camp or in Sardinia, but we're optimistic."
Meanwhile, Cagliari has already committed over €24 million to buy Adopo, Caprile, and Piccoli himself, in addition to the first installment of Gaetano's mandatory buyout. This is a significant sum, unprecedented for the Rossoblu, but one that Giulini has deliberately invested in improving the squad : "It's unprecedented because we weren't in a position to buy the players. We did a good job of acquiring them with an option to buy them, and we've bought all three of them: they've helped us tremendously in achieving this goal. We hope this will be the year he establishes himself in the Rossoblu."
Certainly, the Cagliari that's emerging will be a younger one, following the departures of Augello, Jankto, Palomino, and Viola due to the end of their contracts. "Given the average age, it's likely a younger Cagliari than I am, including the coach," Giulini points out. "In recent days, I've had the opportunity to meet the staff that selected Pisacane: I believe he's found very competent and cheerful professionals who understand what it means to work for Cagliari. This staff has a high sense of responsibility: this is a good thing for starting the season off on the right foot."
Meanwhile, season ticket holders have surpassed 11,500 , and the response from the Rossoblu fans is encouraging. "Starting with the enthusiasm of the fans is crucial," Giulini thanked them. "It's been a goal over the years to build an increasingly distinctive Cagliari, working from the ground up and having professionals who—despite not having played a leading role—have been placed at the center of this new journey. This is very positive: you can see the strong cohesion among all the members, which was formed after the 2022 relegation . Coach Ranieri initially reunited and recreated a unity that had been somewhat lost, including with the fans, whom I thank so much for making us understand that they are aligned with our ideas with the season ticket campaign ."
