he deserves Serie A

TURIN – A formidable season, worth remembering, that of striker Gennaro Tutino, who relaunched himself by returning to “his” Cosenza, the place that in his youth had made him an attacker to keep an eye on. But now, at almost 28 years of age (he will turn 20 on August 20), for one of the most interesting products produced in the last ten years by the Napoli youth academy, the harvest time has come, capitalizing on a season that with the Calabrian Wolves shirt l ‘he saw goals scored 19 times (only 4 penalties). Tutino is the only player who tomorrow evening, on the last day of Serie B (all matches at the same time, kick-off at 8.30 pm), can dream of competing for the title of B’s ​​top scorer against the Finnish totem Pohjanpalo, who leads the ranking with 22 goals: his Venezia, which could surprisingly still displace Como from 2nd place and climb directly into Serie A, will be on stage at Spezia (who must save themselves). Cosenza, on the other hand, already certain of remaining in Serie B, can no longer aspire to a playoff placement but is called to honor football at the home of Como who on Sunday, with the 0-0 draw in Modena, missed the first promotion match point and only by beating Cosenza would they be certain of not losing direct promotion in a mocking manner. Tutino then recently declared that his goal is to close the season with 20 goals and therefore it is to be believed that he will play as a team man, because this is how he has played throughout the season, especially in the second round, as true and undisputed leader. An astonishing maturation that will make him one of the most interesting names on the next market. The Serie A one, obviously. But Tutino deserved the top category already three years ago, when he was one of the pillars of Salernitana promoted from B to surprises with Castori, thanks above all to the attacking duo Djuric-Tutino: it seemed to see, in a small way, a duo similar to Skuhravy- Aguilera, that is, the giant and the slim man who wreak havoc together. The Salernitana team, however, was going through the tormented months of the forced transfer, given that Lotito, already owner of Lazio, could no longer keep them in Serie A. And therefore there was no money to buy Tutino out of Napoli. The necessary cash was provided by Krause’s Parma who had just been relegated to Serie B in 2021 and was preparing a squad to immediately return to Serie A, even if it would have taken three years to do so. But landing in Emilia was not a deal breaker for Tutino. Several times, analyzing his year and a half with the ducals, without looking for alibis, he had many reasons when he explained that bad period in Emilia with a use that was not ideal for him, forced to play too far from the goal with the various coaches who passed on the bench of Parma. Then, when, in January 2023, he went on loan to Palermo, he again did not find fertile ground to express himself: Corini was already laying the foundations for his failure, which then became evident a month ago. In Cosenza however, despite not being in a first tier team but where everyone pampers him, Tutino showed his value, he is now a Serie A striker in all respects. At the moment only hypotheses can be made about his future. He is tied to Parma until 2025. Cosenza had the obligation to redeem Tutino only in the event of promotion to Serie A, so in theory Gennaro could return to Emila, a prospect which, at the moment, due to what has been revealed in recent months , doesn’t particularly excite him, the disappointment he experienced with them in that year and a half was too strong and risked compromising his career. And even in Pama they didn’t move much to get him back (but with his goals, at least they would have risen to Serie A a month early). But many things could change. First of all, we will have to understand who will coach Parma: Pecchia, despite still having one year left on his contract, is highly courted and at the moment it is not exactly certain that he will be the leader of the Emilians in Serie A. At the same time, owner Krause will try to preserve his current talents of the squadron that dominated the Serie B. Elements like Man, Bernabé, Benedyczak and Circati are highly coveted, even in Europe. But everything possible will be done to retain them and perhaps sell them in a year, when after a Serie A championship they could acquire further value. And therefore, in the end, Tutino himself could end up on the market, and there will be no shortage of offers. Be careful though: Cosenza, by 15 June, can exercise the redemption at the figure set a year ago of 2.5 million: in hindsight, a bargain, today it is worth at least double. Therefore, it is also possible that owner Guarascio exercises the redemption and then resells it, finding the money to finance the next Cosenza transfer market. Of course, with the rossoblù, Tutino is the pope but it would be normal, after a year like this, to have legitimate ambitions of Serie A, even of a certain level. Because today Gennaro is a mature striker but not only that: more than scoring, he knows how to invent crazy goals, almost from nothing, to see and review last Sunday’s double against Spezia (masterful free-kick followed by a volleyed back-heel goal-show), who bet on him, he probably makes a deal, even if it will have to be verified outside the Calabrian shell. And at that point, maybe, who knows, in a few months, coach Spalletti could also start thinking about him. If he isn’t already doing it.