SPECULATION about Lewis Ferguson’s future abounded in Italian football circles long before the Scotland midfielder captained Bologna to their first major piece of silverware in no fewer than 51 years aid emotional scenes in the Stadio Olimpico on in Rome on Wednesday night.
So will lifting the Coppa Italia aloft following a hard-fought, unbelievably close and unbearably tense 1-0 triumph over pre-final favourites AC Milan in front of a sell-out crowd of 68,500 in midweek lead to the rumour mill going into overdrive?
The former Hamilton and Aberdeen player is the first footballer from this country to savour success in the competition since Graeme Souness did so with Sampdoria way back in 1985 and only the second ever to prevail after his legendary compatriot.
So more stories linking Ferguson with the biggest and best sides in Serie A – he is already reported to be interesting league leaders Napoli – are sure to appear in the weeks and months ahead as a result of his typically dominant display in the historic triumph.
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“Ferguson was very important to the victory,” said Patrick Kendrick, the Englishman who has been the Serie A world feed commentator for the past 13 years. “He got booked fairly early on after quite a wild challenge, a slide tackle on Rafael Leao right in front of the AC Milan bench.
“Referee Maurizio Mariani immediately gave him a yellow card. Leao, who's one of the quickest players in the league, went flying when Ferguson connected with him and the Milan players were all trying to suggest it should have been a red. I don't think it should have been, I think the match official got the call correct.
“But Lewis didn't pull out of any challenges after that despite the fact he was on a yellow card. If it was any other player, Vincenzo Italiano, the head coach, would have taken him off because of the danger of going down to 10 men. But he kept him on. I thought that showed his importance.
“He is the team captain and the on-field leader. Italiano trusted him to stay on the pitch and he did stay on the pitch until full-time. It was very hard to disagree with the final result. I thought Bologna were better in every department.”
“What makes it even more amazing is that everyone thought they had peaked last year. They lost their manager Thiago Motta to Juventus as well as Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal and Joshua Zirkzee to Manchester United. On top of that, Ferguson was recovering from a bad ACL injury and only came back in October. For them to actually win a trophy is just astounding.”
For Kendrick, whose commentary on the dramatic Coppa Italia final on Wednesday night was broadcast around the globe, it was far from an unexpected display from Ferguson.
He has been impressed with the 25-year-old’s ability and mentality since the Scot joined Bologna in a €2m transfer from Aberdeen in 2022 and anticipated nothing less than an outstanding performance.
“What's been so impressive about him is his versatility,” he said. “His team have typically played with a 4-2-3-1 system and he was usually the No 10, one of the three behind the lone striker.
“But this season he's been playing as part of that two in front of the back four alongside Remo Freuler. They're just an incredible partnership when they both play. Bologna have been so much better as a result of them being there.
“Italiano's done well to manage him recently. He hasn't always been fit enough to start and he’s used him sparingly. He got quite a lot of criticism on Friday night after they lost to AC Milan because he left him out and basically played a reserve team. But that selection was vindicated last night.”
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Ferguson received the Premio Bulgarelli Number 8 award which is given to the best midfielder in Serie A last year and his latest accomplishment in the Coppa Italia with Bologna is sure to have increased his admirers in Italy and further afield.
Kendrick, however, stressed there is much for him to look forward to at the Stade Renato Dall’Ara in the coming seasons and expressed hope that he remains where he is to be a part of things.
“Lewis and his team mates will be remembered forever in Bologna,” he said. “They will forever be heroes to the supporters. But there is much they can achieve in future as well.
“They're really well run club off the pitch. They've been compared a lot to Atalanta, with very good reason. They have a technical director, Giovanni Sartori, who used to be at Atalanta. Their sporting director, Marco Di Vaio, and their CEO, Claudio Fenucci, are excellent as well. Their Canadian president, Joey Saputo, has invested heavily in them.
“They were very strong in the mid-60s and early 70s and then didn't really win much after that. But I think this could be a really good period for the club. They're in the Europa League after winning the cup, having played in the Champions League this season. They’re in the Supercoppa Italiana. So I think they're going to keep building from here really.”
Kendrick continued, “I can see Lewis staying there. He was heavily linked with Juventus at the end of last season. There was talk of Motta taking Calafiori and Ferguson. Then he obviously had a serious injury which basically curtailed any chance of him getting a transfer.
“But they've been patient with him, he's come back in and he's performing again now. Loyalty is a two way thing. He is captain, he is playing week in, week out. I think it would be foolish for him to go anywhere else. I don’t think they can win Serie A, but they can definitely progress.
“He has been mentioned in connection with Napoli. But they already have Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour. But I don’t think there is scope for him to fit in there. McTominay has been sensational. If Napoli win Serie A then I think he will win the Most Valuable Player award. For me, Lewis should stay where he is and see what else he can do.”
