Chelsea’s forgotten man Davide Zappacosta could finally be on his way out of Stamford Bridge this summer.
The 29-year-old arrived at the club in 2017 from Torino, with Antonio Conte at the helm.
Regarded as an exciting attacking full-back option for the Blues, Zappacosta failed to catch the eye during his stint, making just 12 starts in the Premier League in his first season.
After a disappointing season, Conte’s departure from the club meant the Italian fell down the pecking order even further.
He made just four Premier League appearances under Conte’s successor, Maurizio Sarri, and was shipped out on loan to Roma under Frank Lampard’s tenure in 2019/20.
A cruciate ligament injury derailed his spell in Rome, with Zappacosta making just nine appearances in Serie A.
However, whilst he was discarded on another loan spell during 2020/21, Zappacosta fared a lot better in Genoa. He made 25 appearances, scored four goals and registering two assists.
And according to Italian outlet DiMarzio, Zappacosta’s performances have attracted the attention of Fiorentina, who are considering a bid for the 29-year-old.
With one year left on his contract at Chelsea, the Blues are unlikely to demand a hefty fee for their unwanted star, although some fans think they could recoup £10million for the Italian, a fee not to be sniffed at for a fringe player. Transfer website Transfermarkt value him at just over £7m.
Blues fans reacted to the news with mixed emotions on Reddit, with many highlighting his memorable goal against Qarabag in the Europa League.
@parth_thakkar28 : He'll forever live in the highlight reel of Chelsea's greatest goals. Goodbye and good luck.
@lafabio: I was at the game, will forever be a top memory as the fans went nuts
@azraelcfc: I really liked his stint during the Europa game against Frankfurt. He even had a great goal line clearance, the second after David Luiz’s. But yeah, those are the only two things I recall from his stint with us.
@NES_Rowan: If we can get 10m for him, I'm happy. Still a loss on what we spent, but the more we clear out the bloated squad this summer, the better poised we are for Haaland or Hakimi etc.
@Toothache79: To be fair to Zappacosta, he was known as a solid role player whilst at Torino. It wouldn't surprise me if a few Italian clubs are interested for a fee of around 10 million...there are worse wingbacks out there.
@ScorpiaHP: Tbh all those players bar Alonso have one year left on their deals. So atleast three of them have to be out the door this summer, and on a permanent deal. Think it's possible that we make atleast €40m from 3 of them, which is a tidy amount for players we have no plans to use.
@weixian01: An Italian team that doesn't want a loan with an option to buy? I call shenanigans...
Will you be sad to see Zappacosta leave Chelsea? Let us know in the comments below.
