Montella Moves On
An odd one this. Vincenzo Montella has carved out something of a stellar reputation for himself as a manager since retiring from playing the game.
Beginning at Roma, he lasted one season finishing 6th and was replaced as the club was taken over by a US businessman who swiftly appointed Luis Enrique, Barcelona’s current man of the moment.
He then moved on to Catania for one season where they finished mid-table and, most importantly, finished ahead of Sicilian rivals Palermo for the first time in 8 years. Which is when Fiorentina came knocking.
The past 3 seasons have seen Montella flourish as a manager. They have finished in the top 4 each year and reached both the Coppa Italia final and the Europa League semi-final this season.
Despite this, Fiorentina have cited that Montella’s behaviour of late is that of a coach that wants to break his current contractual obligations and have shown him the door.
“So, with great regret, we must take note of the fact that there is no longer the relationship of trust necessary for the continuation of any relationship, and we are therefore forced – for the good of the club – to sack Vincenzo Montella.”
So much for having ambition. A boardroom fallout also creates an interesting conundrum for one Chelsea player that we’ve covered extensively in recent weeks, Mohamed Salah.
- Read: Mohamed Salah: Proof He Can Adapt & Thrive at Chelsea
- Read: Blues Set To Lose Winger For a Year, Opens The Door For Griezmann?
As we reported last week, Montella is known to be a big fan of Salah and his performances for Viola have had many Chelsea fans questioning whether the Jose should bring him back to the Bridge next season.
The latest reports suggested Fiorentina were ready to keep Salah on for a second season in Serie A for a fee of 1m Euros. Any new manager may scupper that deal. As we’re all too familiar with at Chelsea, new management teams bring in their own staff, their own players and play in their favoured style.
Salah is, after all, merely a loan player and a new manager may want to bring players on board that are ready to buy into his project and are signed for the long term.
All these things could well mean Salah is playing in unfavoured positions or worse still, not playing at all.
Watch: All Salah’s Goals at Fiorentina
A New ‘Inter’est?
There’s one more twist to this tale, which probably won’t come to a conclusion any time soon (particularly given that Salah is away on international duty with Egypt but didn’t get off the bench in their 2-1 win over Malawi).
Inter Milan have reportedly spoken of their interest in signing Salah on a permanent deal according to Italian sports news site Tuttosport. This is an interesting one because, unlike Fiorentina, there is no pre-arranged fee for the player – which means Chelsea can name their price. And we all know that players in the transfer window on the back of a purple patch can fetch a princely sum.
So if Inter open their cheque book, it’ll be interesting to see what the board would be willing to accept and if the Blues are ready to let him leave at all.
I expect this one to rumble on for a little while yet with Salah due to play in an African Nations qualifier in a few days time then presumably some holiday time.
Salah for his part shows no sign of wanting to leave, with numerous tweets in support of the Premier League winning squad.
I wish I was there to celebrate with you guys !! Congratulations Chelsea ?? pic.twitter.com/geTVda0w5r
— Mohamed Salah (@22mosalah) May 25, 2015
Let us know where you think Salah will end up come the August kick off.
