Atalanta ‘keen’ on Davide Zappacosta, not so keen on paying a transfer fee — reports

Davide Zappacosta’s future might find some clarity in the near future, with rumblings of Atalanta reportedly keen on him and having made contact with Chelsea — though it’s not specified what type of deal they may be looking for. Fiorentina and Genoa, where he spent last year on loan, have been linked as well previously.

Zappacosta has one year left on his Chelsea contract, which would seem to rule out any sort of loan move — barring an extension or a buy-obligation — though Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness) claim that Atalanta are indeed pushing for one. Chelsea’s asking price may be as low as €4-5m, but there’s hardly been any interest in the 29-year-old right back so we might have to settle for simply giving him away. It’s all sunk cost at this point anyway, right?

The former Torino man is a prime example of Chelsea’s wasteful spending on average talent in the transfer market and regardless of how this situation turns out, should be used as a cautionary tale to get us to trust our own Academy a bit better.