This week is expected to see Luca Mazzitelli join Cagliari. Negotiations with Como have intensified in recent days, with the midfielder becoming the club's top target. The parties are expected to reach an agreement on a loan with an option to buy, for a player whose contract with Como runs until June 30, 2027. Mazzitelli is out of Fàbregas' plans, having used him last season (never for 90 minutes) until the end of October. Then an injury hampered his performance, and at the end of the winter transfer window, he went on loan to Sassuolo, where he secured promotion to Serie A (7 appearances, plus 11 with Como). He was brought to Sassuolo in 2016 by Cagliari's new sporting director, Guido Angelozzi, when he was just starting his career after coming through the youth ranks at Roma. With the same sporting director who hired him in 2022 at Frosinone, with whom he played for two years, the first of which winning the Serie B championship and the second as captain.

On the way out

After finalizing the transfers of Etienne Catena (Siracusa), Razvan Marin (AEK), and Simone Scuffet (Pisa) last week, all three on permanent deals, two more departures are currently on the cards: Nik Prelec, who never joined the training camp, and Mateusz Wieteska. The former, a striker signed in January 2023 and loaned—after six unconvincing months in Serie B—to WSG Tirol and Austria Vienna, is ready to move to Oxford United in the Championship, England's second tier, on loan with a conditional obligation to buy. The same deal is currently being finalized with Turkish side Kocaelispor for Wieteska, who PAOK refused to make permanent in June and has returned to his hometown club (playing the first two friendlies before sitting out Saturday in Hannover).

Another possible move is also possible for Marko Rog, sought by Rijeka after a year and a half on loan at Dinamo Zagreb. And if that happens, it would likely be a departure, given that the unfortunate Croatian midfielder's contract expires on June 30th. Among others, Alessandro Di Pardo and Davide Veroli are still being evaluated, while the hard-to-refuse offers for the big names (especially Roberto Piccoli and Nadir Zortea) that president Giulini had set as the only condition for parting with the squad's prized players (most notably Roberto Piccolo and Nadir Zortea) have not yet arrived.

Incoming

The ever-closer transfer of Wieteska frees up a defensive spot for Cagliari, who will be looking for a player in August who can act as a primary replacement for Mina and Luperto or complete their starting three-man defense. Angelozzi also needs to find a left-back (since Zortea has been adapted several times in friendlies, the only one currently available is Idrissi, with the addition of Obert), and the possibility of a striker remains unclear. However, negotiations for this position with Beşiktaş for Semih Kiliçsoy have come to a screeching halt: it's unlikely they'll reopen before Thursday, when the Turkish side (defeated 2-4 in the first leg) play the second leg of their Europa League second round tie against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Richard Spignesi

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