Fresh new quotes from Torino FC president Urbano Cairo — boy, that Ruralo Cairo joke last time around sure fell on some deaf ears; but no worries, I’m here all week — as he continues to (seemingly) court Chelsea (or whover else from outside of Italy) for a massive bid for his star striker, Andrea Belotti.
“We set a release clause for Belotti at €100m, so if an offer from abroad came at that price, I couldn’t do anything about it if he accepted.”
Why does he feel the need to remind people of this buyout clause and what it would mean? Possibly because no bid has arrived yet and there may or may not be suggestions that Belotti is unhappy.
“As far as I know, there has been no offer from Chelsea, but we are here if it does happen. I will meet with Belotti to ask him if he’s happy to remain at Toro.”
“It’s fundamental that a player of Belotti’s importance stays with us not just because he is under contract, but because he is happy to do so. It’s something that needs to be verified, but I have no reason to doubt him.”
“We’ll also need to talk about a potential deadline for any sale and won’t discuss it beyond that date.”
-Urbano Cairo; source: Football Italia
Cairo’s earlier comments left open the possibility of a bid under the buyout clause getting accepted if a) it’s large enough and b) Belotti wants to leave. Neither of those conditions are necessarily a pressing reality at the moment, but the Torino president keeps talking in terms that could be interpreted in a way to mean the conditions could change and could change quickly.
If Chelsea are indeed interested or considering a “big offer” — YUGE! — we might have a better chance of success here than with Morata. Sure, BVB’s Aubameyang seems to be available as well, but the prices quote there are in the same range as Belotti, Morata, and Lukaku but for a striker who’s 4-5 years older than those three. That alone would make it a much worse investment.