Wait, Juve Want Toni? You Don’t Say.
By: Martha | February 16th, 2007
(First of all, does this picture scare anyone else? Is that his 70s porn star pose? Right. Moving on.)
Though they were linked earlier this month by Tuttosport, and a few days ago in the Giant Three-Way Deal of Awesomeness that same paper put together, today is the first time that Juve’s interest in acquiring Luca Toni has been reported in a context that’s not patently outrageous, and by a source that’s not notoriously pro-Juve.
According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, the Turin club are prepared to offer a staggering £35 million for the lanky striker, seeing him a possible (much better, less injured) replacement for the presumably departing David Trezeguet. Surprisingly for a small(er) club, though, it looks like Fiorentina are prepared to fight for their Toni rather than just accepting his departure as inevitable and putting the money to good use. It’s thought they’re going to offer him both a contract extension and a significant raise if he’s willing to stay around, which might at least give him pause. That said, where Toni ends up may have more to do with where the Viola finish in the table than with how much he’s making. If they can stay on form and sneak into a Champions League spot, he won’t have to leave to fulfill that ambition.
In case that happens, or if Toni develops a sudden case of loyalty, Juve are already eying other possible additions, including Seville’s suddenly productive Freddie Kanoute, little Gila and the ever-present Miroslav Klose.
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Comments
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I’d sell him in an instant for that price. He’ll be 30 at the end of the season and there is no chance Fiorentina will ever get that much for him again. Fiorentina have a lot of good strikers on their books already, Mutu, Pazzini, Reginaldo, and Bojinov.
This past summer, his excuse for wanting to go to Inter was that he wanted to play in Europe. This doesn’t happen next year at Juve. I still think Fiorentina will qualify for Europe next year (maybe only UEFA cup), and I’m unclear as to whether Luca really wants to move on or is motivated by the Champions League now that he has won the world cup.
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I think he just feels like his ambitions are better off at one of Europe’s traditional “big” clubs. Fiorentina has proven this season they can survive without him, the money could lead to the opportunities all Viola fans hope for.
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Agreed Nolan. I understand on the one hand Fiorentina wanting to hang on to him because he is their most well known player. However, it makes a ton of sense to sell him for that absurd price, and take the money to add on to the young core of players they have so they can make a serious push in both their European campaign and the scudetto in ‘07-’08.
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