Berardi: Four Serie A clubs that should consider signing Italy winger this summer | OneFootball

Domenico Berardi must decide whether to stay at Sassuolo or join a Serie A club and Wayne Girard argues that at least four teams should consider signing the Italy international.

If Domenico Berardi wants to keep playing in top-flight football, he’s going to have to make a very difficult decision. After spending his entire professional career with Sassulo, the club captain now finds himself in a precarious position. His club has faced the drop-down to Serie B, and he is on the road to recovering from a torn Achilles, which for many is a career-ending injury.

A decision like this will not come easy. The connections he’s made during his time in Emilia-Romagna run deep, as the people there have adopted him into a second family for the player born in Calabria. A few years ago, he even chased down a fan from rivals Modena after a Coppa Italia loss – a controversial moment, but one nugget that surely made him even more adored by the Neroverdi faithful. Over his career, he has scored 142 times and created 94 assists, making him the club’s all-time leading goal-scorer by almost 100 goals.

Through these moments, he has been at the heart of several cycles while making his club a fighting figure in the mid to top half of the Serie A table. Some notable partnerships included Sergio Floccari and Nicola Sansone, Matteo Politano with Gregoire Defrel, then Alessandro Matri before Diego Falcinelli rose up, and most recently the infamous trident with Giacomo Raspadori and Gianluca Scamacca.

On one hand, ‘Mimmo’ could stay and help his team try to fight back into the top flight. Whether he succeeds or fails, his legendary status at the club will be cemented. However, if he does succeed, he will be revered, and there will shortly be a statue of him one day outside the Mapei Stadium. But if Berardi finally does make the jump, he won’t be short of options. Three clubs in particular have drawn interest for the dynamic winger, and with the possibility of European football and a chance to fight for major trophies, his heart may find itself being strung in different directions.

The bookmakers now see Fiorentina as his most likely option. However, Nicolás González currently occupies the right wing, and benching the Argentinian for the Italian is out of the question. At the least, Berardi would be a player who helps La Viola stay in the hunt for Europa League places and add quality to the attacking roster.

If Fiorentina do sell the 26-year-old for big money, he would be an excellent and practical replacement. Berardi could establish new roots in Florence and become their talisman, especially as Giacomo Bonaventura ages. Curva Fiesole will be in need of a new hero, and he could also get the best out of new arrival Moise Kean.

The Bologna option has also presented itself with a new manager, Vincenzo Italiano. Riccardo Orsolini had a standout season under Thiago Motta, but now with Joshua Zirkee having gone to Manchester United, he loses his main partner and the manager who utilised him in the most efficient way. A switch to the Rossoblu would give Berardi a new project and Champions League football, which is an intriguing journey for a player who has never featured in the tournament.

Tactically, Vincenzo Italiano will need an outlet to distribute from his low block as he plays on the counterattack. While there’s potential here, a move to a rival club and replacing Orsolini seems to be more of fantasy football than reality, regardless of the odds.

In the country’s capital, Lazio find themselves lacking firepower with Ciro Immobile now in Turkey and Felipe Anderson having exited with Luis Alberto making his exit after how many years at the club. With Mattia Zaccagni on the left flank, Berardi would be a high-profile signing for the Biancocelesti and could even find himself more central in a true striker’s position if the club is unable to find a suitable option this summer.

But perhaps the most interesting choice for Berardi would be to play for the team he supported as a boy, and the only club he could ever leave his beloved Sassuolo for. Inter find themselves looking for an economical second forward, presumably as cover for Lautaro Martinez. Simone Inzaghi would undoubtedly get the best out of him given that he’d be surrounded with top tier talent, and motivated to fulfill a childhood dream, this could be Berardi’s big chance.

He can stay a one-club legend for Sassuolo, risk irrelevance in Serie B, or fight for the Scudetto and Champions League. If he decided to chase those dreams and silverware, at least his second family would understand.