Vargas on His Way Out of Catania?

By: Martha | January 7th, 2008

Since we don’t have a Catania blogger, there’s not as much talk around here about their Peruvian beast, Juan Manuel Vargas as there probably should be. RomaChris and I both pimp him whenever we get the opportunity, but when you play for a small club and for a decidedly non-glamorous national team, it’s hard to get much attention. Plus, he’s a defender (and sometime-winger) so despite his insane skills on the ball, he’s not going to score too many spectacular goals, or get attention through absurd hat-tricks like some of his fellow compatriots have. Basically, he absolutely runs things at Catania, and no one really knows about it.

That’s going to change sooner or later, though, because that “no one” doesn’t include the other clubs in Italy — or, indeed, the rest of Europe — all of whom are very aware of his ability and promise, and a move to a bigger side is pretty much inevitable. Last summer there was seriously interest from Liverpool, and Roma even offered €4 million for him. At the time, Catania were able to say no, and the price on the 24-year-old’s head has got to be twice that now.

And, if we believe goal.com (there’s no paper mentioned in the report, so it’s dubious at best), the first offer of the winter has come in: Fiorentina are in discussions for Vargas’ services, hoping to bring him to Florence in exchange for … backup keeper Cristiano Lupatelli. Er. What? It’s not that the Viola wouldn’t be willing to let Lupatelli go for Vargas — Sebastian Frey’s back in training, and they’re in love with their primavera keeper — but unless Catania’s Ciro Polito died over the break and no one has heard, why on earth would they make this deal?! Granted, Polito’s giving up better than a goal/game, but the team are firmly in the middle of the table, and they’d have to be out of their minds the get rid of Vargas now, particularly for an inconsistent keeper who’s worth a fraction of what the Peruvian would bring. Unless the Viola are planning to throw in an as-yet mentioned giant pile of cash, this is mad.

There is, however, something slightly more plausible coming from Fiorentina sources: They’re reporting that Anthony Vanden Borre, who usually plays on the opposite side of defense from Vargas but has slotted in on the left before, could be part of the exchange, which would only be a loan. That actually makes some sense to me — though his appearances for the Viola have been limited this season, Vanden Borre is only 20 and has a ton of ability (he’s already got 17 full caps for the world-beating Belgian national team), and Fiorentina would love to get him some Serie A experience. And, if Catania really are desperate for a keeper, Vanden Borre is a nice bonus. He’s no Vagas, but he’s an exciting player.