Beauty is truth, and truth beauty, reckoned sought-after wordsmith John Keats, back in the day. For Southampton’s in-demand Graziano Pellè, though, beauty is something closer to home: Italy, his homeland, to be precise.
Pellè misses it, see. “Italy is the most beautiful country in the world,” he sighed, sipping an espresso and picking at plates of olives and cured meats. “And it is that beauty which I am missing.” There’s no room for poetry in the cut-throat world of top-level football and these wistful words can be interpreted in only one way: it’s a come-and-get-me plea. Possibly.
Sure enough, the Saints striker continued: “Serie A has had a fall recently but now it is showing growth again. Juventus’s showings in the Champions League and the other teams in the Europa League have lifted it. Within a few years, Serie A will again be among one of the best leagues in the world.”
See, he mentioned Juventus! The Italian champions and last year’s Champions League runners-up are duly keeping tabs. Pellè says he is happy in England with Southampton at the moment “but only time will tell”. It surely will.
What are international breaks for if not for cosseted stars to jaunt home and spread whispers about future employment opportunities among compatriots? Sure enough, Red Star Belgrade’s teenaged Marko Grujic says he has been told by his Serb compatriot Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic that they really fancy him at Stamford Bridge. Talking of Chelsea, the Premier League strugglers are considering ending Radamel Falcao’s loan deal from Monaco and allowing Valencia to swoop for the 29-year-old.
Meanwhile Arsenal are so chuffed with Mesut Özil’s form this season they are set to strike while the German playmaker is hot and offer him a new contract, with his current deal still having two and a half years to run.
Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill is so keen for Kyle Lafferty to get some first-team football, somewhere, anywhere, that he welcomes the idea of the Norwich striker joining Leeds United, for the quiet steady life that Elland Road indisputably offers. The Leeds manager Steve Evans is interested, anyhow.
The Mill continues to churn out Cristiano Ronaldo talk, with sources close to the star blabbing that this weekend’s el clásico could be his final set-to with Barcelona. Evidence of his want-away inclinations doesn’t come much harder than in the revelation that Real Madrid SNUBBED the London premiere of the Portuguese’s self-promotion flick Ronaldo. And what kind of two-bob, unsympathetic outfit fails to send a senior representative several hundred miles for a night out at the cinema?
Álvaro Morata has insisted that literally his only interest at the moment is playing for Juventus, despite speculation linking him with Real Madrid. “The speculation isn’t my problem,” he moaned, before adding: “I’m very happy where I am and I’m not thinking about any other clubs. It’s true that there are a lot of things that aren’t up to me but I’d like to reiterate that I’m happy at Juventus and I have no intention of moving.”
