Torino President Urbano Cairo has seemingly admitted defeat in his fight to make Andrea Belotti sign a new deal in Turin.
Andrea Belotti, 27, has been a smash hit at Torino since arriving from Palermo in 2015. Rated as one of Italy’s top strikers in recent years, he has netted 106 goals while supplying 27 assists in 234 appearances for the Turin-based club across all formats.
However, the 27-year-old has entered the final year of his contract at the club and Urbano Cairo thinks the Italian striker has no interest in signing an extension. “For the moment he hasn’t signed, I don’t think he wants to sign. I made an offer that went beyond my means, I can’t force him to do anything”, Cairo told TUTTOmercatoWEB when asked about Belotti’s contractual situation.
As Belotti’s contract expires next summer, he can negotiate with foreign clubs and sign a pre-contract agreement from January onwards. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the three potential destinations for Belotti.
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Arsenal
Arsenal may have recovered from a disastrous start to the new season but they still have a long way to go before they can rub shoulders with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
With the Gunners managing only ten goals in nine league games this season and facing the prospect of losing Alexandre Lacazette on a free transfer next summer, signing a striker has seemingly become the topmost priority for Mikel Arteta.
Andrea Belotti, in that case, would be a good fit at the Emirates Stadium. A poacher in the box in every sense, Belotti could fit in really well in the Arsenal attack where he will have some really talented creative players like Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe around him to create opportunities.
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Liverpool
Liverpool have started the new Premier League season very well and will look to regain the title lost to Manchester City last term.
The Reds are playing some of the best football in the country with Mohamed Salah breathing fire at the moment. However, Jurgen Klopp could miss the services of two of his most potent weapons in Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane for potentially a month if the African Nations Cup goes ahead in January.
This should prompt Liverpool to reinforce their attacking options in the winter transfer window, thus, making Andrea Belotti a viable option. Belotti would fit well in Klopp’s fast-paced, pressing system and would add goals himself which will potentially be the need of the hour if Mane and Salah leave for the AFCON.
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Barcelona
Barcelona signed three forwards in Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Luuk de Jong after losing Lionel Messi in the summer, but apart from Depay, they have lacked a quality and fit option up top.
Sergio Aguero recently returned from injury but Martin Braithwaite is out injured while Luuk de Jong hasn’t done anything notable in the games he’s played so far. Given the Catalan club’s financial problems, they could target a player who’ll be available for a modest fee in January.
This makes Andrea Belotti the ideal option for Barcelona. In Belotti, Koeman’s successor would get a hard-working, quick and clinical striker to ease his team’s struggles in front of goal. A predator in the box, the Italy international can be a solid and reliable addition in attack whilst providing the Barcelona squad with a boost in the second half of the campaign.
