Two Strikers Desperate to Move

By: Martha | January 10th, 2008

Misery loves Rigano As of this morning, Christian Riganò is still in Spain. He’s stuck on the bottom of La Liga with the hapless Levante — nine points behind their nearest rivals with a goal difference of -22, twice that of the next-worst — losing week after week, and not getting paid. Everyone at the club has already given up hope, and they’re on the verge of crashing out of the Copa del Rey, too — why ever would he want to leave?

Last month, the rumor mill had clubs lining up for Riganò — he’s not young, but he’s productive, and it’s hard to say no to a big, proven target man, if the price is right. Among the clubs connected with his names so far have been Roma (most frequently), Cagliari and Siena. In the last week, though, things have gone strangely quiet, and now even Torino — a club that’s been connected with pretty much anyone who’s ever scored a goal — have moved on from their interest in the former Messina man. And, according to news coming out of Messina, the issue is his fee: Levante are asking €1 million for a loan, and the smaller clubs looking for help are apparently unwilling to invest that much to get Riganò for five months. If this is true, faced with the alternative of life at Levante, it’s only a matter of time before the striker himself is offering to pay his own damn fee, if only to escape.

Cristiano Lucarelli, meanwhile, is facing smiliar problems trying to engineer his own escape from Ukraine — Shakhtar Donetsk are more than happy to loan him out, but they’re asking so much that none of the clubs in need of a target man can afford him. Thought to be on the verge of a move to Parma just a few days ago, the striker has reportly come to an agreement with the club, but found the deal scuttled by Shakhtar’s loan price, which is believed to be as much as €2 million. And, if a club are attached enough to want Lucarelli forever, it’s expected to cost them a total of about €6 million. Yeah, I’m not think Parma (or Torino, or Genoa, two other teams said to be interested) can afford that, no matter how desperate they are for scoring.

It will certainly be a bummer for both Lucarelli and Serie A if he ends up spending his entire winter break training with an amateur side, but unless someone discovers a buried treasure — or Roma step up — that possibility is looking increasingly likely.