According to reports from The Express this afternoon, Sampdoria are planning audacious bids for Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma and Liverpool’s Mario Balotelli this summer.
Zouma has impressed when called upon during his first season at Stamford Bridge, making 28 appearances across all competitions – including a starting berth in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup final – and is tipped for a bright future with the Premier League champions.
Balotelli, on the other hand, has struggled since signing for Liverpool last summer, going on to net just four times in all competitions and only once in the Premier League, leading many to assume manager Brendan Rodgers will attempt to offload him in the coming transfer window.
Rather surprisingly, Sampdoria have emerged as potential candidates for both players’ signatures. Club president Massimo Ferrerro wants to qualify for the Europa League next season – La Samp are currently sixth in the Serie A table – and he views the Premier League stars as vital additions to achieve that goal.
He told Calciomercato.com: “This year I want to get into the Europa League, and then in a year or two the Champions League and win the Scudetto.
“To win we need reinforcements and I want to reassure the fans: we will not sell, but we will strengthen in the transfer market.”In defence we are trying to sign the French player Zouma from Chelsea. We like him a lot.”
He also told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli: “Balotelli is a great name. He’d suit a lot of teams. I’d take him at Sampdoria in a heartbeat. A partnership of Eto’o and Balotelli would be fantastic.”
Whilst a move for Balotelli seems plausible, it’s unlikely Chelsea would part with Zouma after just a single season.