Euro 2020 winner Domenico Berardi has asked to leave Sassuolo as Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City consider offering the Serie A star a fresh start in the Premier League, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
Less than 24 hours after Manuel Locatelli finally completed his long-awaited move to Juventus, this is the last thing Sassuolo needed.
The Serie A’s great overachievers have secured a top-half finish in each of the past two seasons – but it doesn’t take long for a house of cards to collapse and the comfort of upper-mid-table to descend into a relegation dogfight.
Replacing Locatelli will be easier said than done and the departure of influential head coach Roberto De Zerbi to Shakhtar Donetsk has stung too.
Berardi, however, would be the biggest loss of all. He’s not only the club’s most gifted attacker but also the symbol of Sassuolo, a talismanic presence on and off the pitch.
The Italy international rose through the ranks at Sassuolo and, with 17 goals and eight assists, enjoyed his best season so far in 2020/21 before starring for Italy at the European Championships.
Berardi has been dubbed the ‘Totti of Sassuolo’ but it seems he won’t be joining the Eighth King of Rome in the prestigious ‘one-man club’ after all.
Liverpool and Tottenham eye Berardi as it starts to go wrong at Sassuolo
According to Tuttomercatoweb, Berardi believes it’s the right time to leave the Mapei Stadium. His stock has certainly never been higher.
Liverpool have been linked, while Leicester City are still in the market for a left-footed right-winger in the Riyad Mahrez role (Corriere dello Sport).
And after Spurs were linked a few weeks ago, sporting director Fabio Paratici labelled Berardi, a one-time Juventus target, a “great talent”.
“No offer has formally arrived for him,” Sassuolo chief executive Giovanni Carnevali said this morning, insisting Berardi wouldn’t go anywhere for less than £32 million.
“The player, for us, has an economic value even higher than that of Locatelli.”
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