Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
Szymon Żurkowski’s struggles this season have been well-documented: told by Fiorentina manager Vincenzo Italiano at the start of the season that he was an important back-up and to reject a transfer to Empoli or Spezia, Italiano proceeded to only use Żurkowski for 78 minutes in all competitions, grew resentful of him on account of Czesław Michniewicz “pestering” him to play Żurkowski prior to the World Cup and then Italiano explained that the 25 year-old midfielder was his sixth-choice in that position. All of this misery was then compiled when Żurkowski played for Poland in the World Cup warm-up game against Chile in Warszawa, when he had possibly the worst game any of us have seen him play.
We’ve known for some time now that it’s highly unlikely that Żurkowski will finish the season in Florence, as a January exit from La Viola was being spoken about as soon as the summer window slammed shut in early September.
So, who is are the front-runners for Żurkowski’s signature in the new year? The interest Empoli and Spezia showed in the summer is believed to have cooled, somewhat considerably in the case of Spezia. Empoli regard Żurkowski slightly differently, given his wonderful loan spell he spent there last season and it is believed they still hold a candle for him, although they are no longer in prime position to get him in January.
In recent weeks, reports in Italy and Poland have gathered pace that 19th-placed Sampdoria are willing to offer very good terms to secure Żurkowski in a bid to help them avoid relegation. Given that a fellow member of Poland’s World Cup squad in Bartosz Bereszyński is allegedly leaving Samp to join table-toppers Napoli, Żurkowski would be the sole Pole at the Serie A strugglers if he were to join them.
Just yesterday, Tuttosport reported that Salernitana have now joined the race to get Żurkowski in January. The club from Salerno already have Krzysztof Piątek among their ranks and are in a far healthier position than they were at this stage last season and have been pretty impressive in the first half of the season. They certainly look to have more potential at this moment than Sampdoria, but who knows what the rest of the Serie A campaign will look like for the two clubs.
Despite spending this whole article claiming that there is no way Żurkowski will be at Fiorentina beyond January 31st 2023, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he remains at the club. After Morocco’s stunning World Cup run, key midfielder Sofyan Amrabat is rumoured to be a hot commodity and Fiorentina may well be looking to cash in, and this would mean that Żurkowski moves up the pecking order at his current club.
This is still fairly unlikely, and Żurkowski will almost certainly head to one of Sampdoria or Salernitana. If I were Żurkowski, I’d pick the latter, but who knows which of these clubs (perhaps neither) he will end up at.
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