Fabiano Parisi will ‘certainly not’ leave Empoli in the January transfer window, agent Mario Giuffredi tells Tuttomercatoweb after confirming interest from Premier League outfit Leeds United.
The 21-year-old’s departure from the Stadio Carlo Castellani, it seems, is less a case of if and more when.
Giuffredi, speaking a couple of weeks ago, admitted that Fiorentina, Atalanta, Torino, Nice and even Jesse Marsch’s Leeds had made an approach for the attack-minded Parisi.
Empoli can, at least, rest easy for the time being, in the knowledge that one of Serie A’s most coveted young players is not going to walk out on Gli Azzurri with half of the season remaining.
“Parisi? He is one of the most important full-backs in the league,” says Giuffredi. “We expect him to be called up for the (Italian) national team, and then make the leap next season.
“In January, he will certainly not move. His market will be the summer.”
Leeds United like Serie A left-back Fabiano Parisi
Parisi, valued at around £10 million, has started all but one of Empoli’s 12 Serie A games this term. Leeds’ interest, meanwhile, comes during a season in which Pascal Struijk is filling in on the left-hand following injuries to both Junior Firpo and Stuart Dallas.
And while Struijk has done an admirable job in difficult circumstances, he is certainly not a natural in the position.
Empoli’s president Fabrizio Corsi, however, has already made clear that he will not be bullied into a January sale. Parisi has five years left on his contract.
“I have already decided that, in January, there is no chance of selling him,” Corsi explains, while admitting that Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio have made an approach for a player who arrived in 2020 from Avellino.
“Transfer questions about Empoli players make me angry and bother me. I don’t even want to take them into consideration because my job is to protect these guys and Empoli environment.”
Leeds, meanwhile, are also targeting a striker in January.
Salernitana’s Boulaye Dia and Red Bull Salzburg’s Noah Okafor are two potential additions. Aberdeen youngster Lewis Pirie is another on Leeds’ radar.
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