It’s roughly 3.30pm and the confirmation travels on social media, on the Twitter profile, with Sampdoria on the horizon for lunchtime: “See you tomorrow,” wrote Gerard Deulofeu referring to today’s appointment at Marassi, commenting on a his photo in the foreground, where an almost winking expression shines through which could also erase the memory of the “smash” on the number 10 – the injury in Naples, the endless recovery, the market hypotheses – except that he’s gone another has opened, fueled by the rumors bouncing in Friuli from Rome and which could also spread today to the green rectangle of the Luigi Ferraris stadium, where Udinese is playing an important match.
The scenery
Andrea Sottil’s team, despite its volcanic leader, has been placidly settled at an altitude of 25 for two days, in ten – without ever achieving a victory – it has collected 6 points losing contact from the Europe area, where it returned, without merit, the other evening, when the FIGC’s Court of Appeal deprived Juventus of 15 points in the standings, who are now behind Udinese who magically find themselves potentially in seventh place if they score points today with Sampdoria and thus respond to the Turin that won the direct clash with Fiorentina last night.
That seventh place which, in the face of an Italian Cup in the first six bulletin board, will give away a place in the cups for next year. All right, Juventus will be a “wounded beast” behind them, the others have shortened the distances, but the hope is that Udinese will start traveling again to stay hooked at least to the last carriage of the train to Europe.
The protagonist
Deulofeu’s return from this point of view is important. He should play today part timestarting from the bench, but the numbers say that in the 15 games played with “Geri” on the field, Udinese has collected an average of 1.6 points, with a 40% win percentage, while in the remaining three games without the Catalan the average points it dropped to a measly 0.3.
But then why doesn’t Pozzo take him off the market by also dismantling the rumors coming from Rome, where Deulofeu is seen as the replacement for the very probable departing Zaniolo (Tottenham and Milan follow him)? Question of a contract, the one that expires in June 2024, which the Catalan no longer intends to extend with Udinese.
Moral of the story, if someone with a figure of around 22 million shows up by January, then Pozzo will sell him, for 10 (as is being told in these hours in the capital, yellow and red side) the black and white ownership can afford to sell him again next summer where from the Premier League (Everton and Aston Villa) they already offer more.