Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
In recent days, two separate transfer stories regarding Krzysztof Piątek have been gathering pace. The first of these indicate a return to Serie A with Salernitana and the second as a temporary stop-gap at Borussia Dortmund for the unavailable Sebastian Haller.
Let’s take a look at these separately, as well as in the wider context of what either move would mean for Piątek’s career and ahead of the World Cup.
The Salernitana rumour seems a little bit more concrete, although Salernitana are rumoured to have struck a deal with Inter Milan over striker Andrea Pinamonti, although Pinamonti so far has declined to enter negotiations over personal terms. This leaves Neal Maupay, of Brighton, and Piątek as Salernitana’s preferred options at striker for the coming season. Maupay is supposedly open to leaving the English south coast and heading to Italy, but whether the Seagulls are willing to sell seems to be fluctuating on a day-by-day basis.
Salernitana moving for Piątek looks the most advanced outside of the Pinamonti deal. The president of Salernitana, Danilo Iervolino, was interviewed on Italian radio about a possible move for Piątek. He confirmed that personal terms had been agreed with the Polish international, but that his current club Hertha Berlin were unsure about the current loan offer with option of purchase.
Hertha are not willing to let Piątek go on a cut-price deal, largely because they invested so much money in him in January 2020. He was their record signing at €27 million and he earns a reported €3.5 million per year in salary at the German club. After a severe downturn in form, Piątek’s transfer value is less than half of that.
The second rumour involves Dortmund. With summer signing Haller sadly diagnosed with testicular cancer and ruled out for an undisclosed period, Dortmund are said to be in the market for a striker, most likely on loan or someone who is a current free agent to tide them over until Haller completes his recovery.
Dortmund really have their pick of the bunch, so if they ended up selecting Piątek I would be surprised. Considering he has never really proven himself in the Bundesliga, it would be a bold move from the hierarchy at Dortmund. That said, Piątek has got 23 caps for Poland, so he is not an unproven commodity.
In my opinion, Piątek’s stock is at its highest in Serie A; this is why Salernitana are the club showing the strongest interest and why he spent the second half of last season on loan at Fiorentina, scoring six goals in eighteen appearances.
Wherever he ends up, it is important he gets regular time on the pitch ahead of the mid-season World Cup, which he will probably be selected to go to regardless of form, given his reputation. It would be nice to see him play well until the break for the tournament, given either he or Arkadiusz Milik will be the most likely to play alongside Robert Lewandowski up front for Poland at the World Cup, although there is much more competition for this second striker role than there used to be, but that is an article for another time.
For more, follow @ekstraklasaexp on Twitter and @ekstraklasaexports on Instagram to know when new posts go live.
Comments