Sunderland have made a bid for Juventus’ attacking midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini, which has been accepted. Coach Antonio Conte has revealed that they have “reluctantly” accepted a bid from The Black Cats for the 28-year-old playmaker. Despite Juventus wishing to keep Giaccherini at the club, he failed to establish himself as a first team regular last season, only making 25 appearances and scoring 3 goals in Juventus’ title winning campaign.
Antonio Conte stated that they could no longer provide the Italian midfielder with the opportunities he was seeking, and so felt it was best for all parties involved to accept the bid and allow Giaccherini the freedom to discuss personal terms with Sunderland.
Conte accepted the fact that players needed to be sold to enable him to be able to strengthen in areas he see’s fit, especially after the signing of Carlos Tevez from Manchester City recently. He went on to say “Giaccherini was valued, they offered him an important contract. I’m happy for him but unhappy for me. I’m not happy with the sale of Giaccherini but in times of crisis when you buy you must also make sacrifices.”
Sunderland have been busy in this transfer window, with Paolo Di Canio already concluding 7 deals, with the Giaccherini deal yet to be finalized, with the capture of United States striker Jozy Altidore and 20-year-old French midfielder El-Hadji Ba already over the line.