According to reports from Inside Futbol, Atalanta, ex-Roma and ex-AC Milan winger Urby Emanuelson, who was on loan at Atalanta last season, has said that his Italian job is at an end, intimating that he is looking to move on to pastures new. This will likely be of interest to Leeds United whose owner, Massimo Cellino, is known to be an admirer of the Dutch left winger. On Dutch website Voetbal International, Emanuelson is quoted as saying,
“Ik ben wel een beetje klaar met Italië” – Voetbal Innternational
“I’m a little bit done with Italy.” – Google Translate
Emanuelson moved from AC Milan on a free transfer to Roma at the start of the 2014/15 season, before moving on a similar free transfer to Atalanta at the end of the 2015 January transfer window. Reflecting on a difficult season, 28-year old Emanuelson mentions the strains of a season that was largely spent on the bench. He told Voetbal International,
“Ik heb een heel moeizaam, zwaar seizoen gehad. Het hoofd moet leeg nu, even tijd voor leuke dingen. Weet je, ik ben echt blij dat dit seizoen erop zit. Het was het zwaarste uit mijn carrière.” – Voetbal International
“I had a very difficult , tough season . The head should be empty now , some time for fun stuff. You know, I ‘m really glad this season is over . It was the toughest of my career.” – Google Translate
So, with that in mind, maybe Massimo Cellino might want to step in. It isn’t everyday that a player of quality, such as Urby Emanuelson, with a market value of £2.2m (transfermarkt.com figures), comes onto the market. Additionally, Emanuelson has been a free transfer last two times he’s moved between teams, so that would give a shrewd operator like Cellino some room for manoeuvre when it comes to negotiating a price or brokering a loan-to-buy option deal.
Whilst some may decry ‘yet another foreigner from the Italian leagues’, they need to remember this is a Netherland international and he’s coming from Serie A after playing for some of the biggest teams in Wurope in the likes of Ajax, AC Milan and Roma. Forget the much-asked for ‘Championship experience’, someone like Urby Emanuelson would simply bring ‘classy experience’.
It seems that Emanuelson is both keen and eager to rid himself of last season, a season of inactivity that rankles him. He told Voetbal International that, whilst he sometimes thought that watching from the sidelines was acceptable, this was something that didn’t sit pretty with him with Emanuelson himself saying,
“Maar ik ben voetballer en wilde dolgraag laten zien dat ik niet voor niets bij Ajax en AC Milan had gespeeld. Ik weiger te geloven dat ik het niet meer kan.” – Voetbal International
“But I am a footballer and was eager to show that I had not played for nothing at Ajax and AC Milan. I refuse to believe that I can not.” – Google Translate
With Leeds and Uwe Rösler favouring an attacking brand of football with a 4-3-3 formation being the mainstay next season, a wide berth for the free-shooting, long-shot Emanuelson may well be an option that Leeds United should explore.
