Mirco Antenucci had a dream 12 months after leaving Leeds, but it could all go wrong.
Mirco Antenucci is second at Leeds in goals behind Chris Wood over the past three seasons despite leaving the club last summer.
The Italian quit Leeds after his contract expired to sign with Serie B side SPAL, having netted 19 times in two years.
Last season he scored 18 goals for SPAL as he helped the unfancied side win promotion to Serie A.
But his dream return to Italy came close to turning sour at earlier this week when SPAL considered selling him back to a Serie B side, potentially wiping out his hard earned chance of starring in the top flight.
He was left on the bench for SPAL’s opening Serie A fixture.
Despite the offer, Antenucci is determined to stick it out and remain at SPAL, and finally have a crack at Serie A, having fought to get there.
Dropping down a division does not appear to be on his agenda, but Empoli are not giving up and could return with a fresh offer.
No need for Leeds to look back
Leeds may wish they had renewed Antenucci’s deal and kept him at Elland Road last season, for he would have been a big upgrade on Marcus Antonsson, who failed to contribute meanfully towards their promotion challenge as it faltered late on.
Despite SPAL’s openness to cashing in, and Leeds needing a striker after Chris Wood’s exit, there is no need for the Whites to take a second look at the 32-year-old.
This is a new Leeds set up, with the club unafraid to make big decisions and ship out key players from past sides like Liam Bridcutt and Chris Wood.
The club are busy targeting young talent like Jay-Roy Grot, who has a real chance of turning into a top star.
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