Palermo holding out on Chelsea as bidding war for Javier Pastore begins
In an ever-expanding football economy Palermo’s attacking midfielder, Javier Pastore, is now said to be worth £44m, or at least that’s according to Rosanero president, Maurizio Zamparini. Chelsea and Manchester United locked horns for the Argentine midfielder last summer, but in a time where Sir Alex Ferguson saw ‘no value in today’s market’, Pastore ended up staying in Serie A for another season.
Things have changed now though, and it is rumoured that the Premier League champions will be looking to spend around £50m in the approaching transfer window. However, Chelsea have taken the initiative and acted first in 2011, apparently having had a ‘substantial bid’ turned down for Pastore.
Palermo had an unremarkable 2010-11 season in the Serie A, finishing 8th overall. That being said, whenever there was a sparkle amongst the team, it was usually Javier Pastore at the heart of it. A highlight of such sparkle is his hat-trick against Catania in November. Even more enticing is Pastore’s youth. The midfielder is set to turn 22 years-old this month, but has showed great maturity in the past year, earning his place in the Palermo starting line-up.
The Palermo hierarchy seem intent to get their money’s worth for Cordoba-born Pastore, if he is to leave at all. Zamparini also claims that about six clubs are in the hunt for midfield maestro, including several Italian clubs and Manchester City (although there’s seldom a player they aren’t associated with these days) so the £44m price-tag may just be what they’re going to get. Whether Pastore’s fancy footwork will work quite as well in the English Premier League, we’ll have to wait and see.
