Calcio Mercato Roundup

Another busy week in the world of mercato has seen several speculated deals confirmed. Motta has also completed his move to Inter, and will join former team mate Diego Milito in the benemata ranks. However, it appears that the proposed deal for Twente sensation Marko Arnatovic to Inter has fallen through due to Twente not willing to loan out the player. This could leave the door open for Lazio who have mentioned interest before in Arnatovic, and with a number of clubs unwilling to buy because of a current foot injury the Aquilotti could use this to their advantage and strike for a deal. Lazio have also joined Napoli and Fiorentina in the battle to acquire the services of Inter Milan's Julio Cruz, a player who would add depth to either of these three clubs.

Milan go Hunting
Meanwhile across in the red and black half of Milan their search for a hitman continues and they may have found a solution in the form of Real Madrid player Klass Jan Huntelaar. Here is a player who has no trouble in finding the back of the net and would fit in perfectly at Milan and will likely move on a loan deal. He is the type of player AC have lacked in a while, a forward who can get 25 goals in a season without too much trouble, and taking into consideration the relationship between Real and Milan a deal is very likely. However, Milan it would appear are not only after the 'Hunter'. They still are intent on landing Brazil forward Luis Fabiano to their forward line at a decent price. The reported 30 million euro buyout clause is high for a player aged 28, and they will look to get a fee much lower if possible.

Lazio watch: Pandev and Ledesma issue roles on
Are they going, are they staying? Im not even sure the Lazio fans, like myself, care anymore either way. Why? because we all wanted a quality centre back this summer, not to search for players in positions that we though we had filled. Pandev still looks the most likely to leave, although he has somewhat shot himself in the foot by admitting this before the season even ended. Indeed in recent days, the pair have both backtracked somewhat admitting as much that they could stay at Lazio. In my eyes, this would only be acceptable if they were to sign new contracts, as opposed to leaving on a free transfer in the not so distant future.

Juve continue their search for a central midfielder
And the search here goes on. D'Agostino, Melo, Diarra, and Cristian Ledesma have all been mentioned but still the whole next to Mommo Sissoko has not been filled. They made the error of signing Poulson last season, but at least this time in many respects they seem to be putting much though into who arrives. It has to be said though, Juve look ready for a title challenge. With a midfield that contains Camoranesi, Diego and Sissoko it is already very competent, and one of the aformentioned names could make it the best midfield in Italy.

Roma look for a hitman
Its no secret that the cash has dried up on the red side of Rome, and while injuries could be to blame for a poor season just passed they do need someone to put the ball into the back of the net and to take the pressure of Totti. Thus they need a bargain, and perhaps Ruud Van Nistelrooy could help them out here. They had been linked to Sheva, but that rumour seems to have died a death.

Huntelaar image: Tsutomu Takasu