LECCE – The tall winger Tete Morente is close to Lecce. The manager of the technical area Pantaleo Corvino and the sporting director Stefano Trinchera are negotiating his hiring with the entourage of the footballer, who will leave Elche, a team that took part in the Spanish League 2, on June 30th. Morente, who grew up in Atletico Madrid’s academy, reaching the B team, without ever wearing the first team jersey, has always played in Spain, with Atletico Baleares, Gimnastic, Lugo, Malaga Fc and, most recently, Elche. At 27, he would like to have an experience abroad and is attracted by the idea of trying his hand in the Italian Serie A.
In the last year, the tall winger originally from La Linea de la Concepcion, where he was born on 4 December 1996, has been one of the cornerstones of his team, in whose ranks he has collected 39 appearances, of which 37 from the first minute and just 2 as a substitute, scoring 8 goals and providing 2 assists. His profile is in line with those usually followed by Corvino, who prefers little-known, young and talented footballers to be developed or experts who need to raise their prices or who have never performed on a certain level, but who he is convinced they are capable of doing so.
The arrival of Morente would lead to the definitive abandonment of trying to keep Pontus Almqvist in the Giallorossi, who will return at the end of his loan to Rostov and who in the meantime is courted by Paok Salonika.
While waiting for the summer transfer market to officially open its doors, two other names are linked to the Via Colonel Costadura partnership, returning to fashion after having been in the crosshairs during the negotiations started by Corvino in Trinchera in January, in the winter transfer market. They are those of the Swedish central defender Gustaf Lagerbielke, 24 years old, whose contract with Celtic will expire on 30 June 2028, and the Dutch midfielder Dani de Wit, 26 years old, who will be released from AZ Alkmaar at the end of the month and will be free to settle down where he prefers.
These are two very different perspectives. Lagerbielke, after being a starter at the start of the Premiership, was passed over in Celtic’s internal hierarchy, so much so that he was not called up 22 times and remained on the bench in 2 matches. Overall, the Swede made 7 appearances, 4 as a starter and 3 as a substitute, for 407 minutes played. The boy is determined to move on, but his managers, after having taken him from Efsborg for just under three and a half million euros, are not willing to sell him off and record a serious loss in the balance sheet.
De Wit, who emerged from Ajax’s thriving academy, is an element of considerable depth, both in terms of technique and experience, capable of acting as an attacking midfielder and central midfielder. In AZ he was an irremovable starter, making a pretty good contribution in the implementation phase, as well as in the organization and development of the maneuver. The 26-year-old born in Hoorn was used in 32 out of 34 matches, fielded 29 times in the starting eleven. In the 2,520 minutes in which he was on the pitch, he scored 10 goals and provided 3 assists. Furthermore, he took part in 6 Conference League matches (424′) with a goal and an assist to his name. Corvino and Trinchera, however, are not the only ones to have smelled the deal and the competition is fierce. Bringing him to Salento would be a coup, but one that is difficult to pull off.
Radio mercato reports on some Lecce footballers being paid attention by Italian and foreign clubs. Roma and Torino like goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone. Right back Valentin Gendrey is of interest to Wolfsburg and Fiorentina, a partnership that would also be attractive to center forward Nikola Krstovic, who is also followed by Genoa. The left winger Patrik Dorgu is on the roster of Liverpool and most of the Italian big teams. But among the Giallorossi players who may have a market there are also Marin Pongracic and Antonino Gallo.
It must be said that at the moment these are only rumors. Time will clarify whether official requests will be presented in Via Colonel Costadura and whether the associations that come forward will want to pay the valuation that Lecce will give to their jewels. In this sense, the Giallorossi leaders did not mince words: the will of those who intend to leave to make a leap forward in their career and at the same time earn more will be supported, as is understandable, but no one thinks of doing so “shopping” in Salento at rock-bottom prices.
