Today’s edition of “Il Corriere dello Sport” focuses on the Palermo transfer market and the 4 big players in the squad under the lens of the new coach Dionisi.
Just a year ago, Palermo signed a series of top-level players, deemed adequate for the leap in quality expected by the club and the club. And he tied them to himself with multi-year contracts. However, given the conclusion of a season below expectations, the fate of those same players now becomes a question. Lucioni, Ceccaroni, Insigne, Di Francesco, all coming from experiences that seemed to guarantee success and which, albeit on a different scale, yielded less than expected: except Lucioni, whose contract expires in 2025, they all have at least another 2 years of contract.
Their positions are under scrutiny by a new sporting director and another coach. Winners to recover. It will therefore be the overall vision that De Sanctis and Dionisi want to give to the new Palermo that will decide: of course, the story is singular in some ways. By focusing on those names, recommended by Corini, we had chosen the path of elements who knew Serie B well and were used to playing under pressure and for important goals. Lucioni and Insigne had been promoted with Frosinone, Ceccaroni had already won a championship (in Venice, where the year before he had been coached by Dionisi), Di Francesco had played almost permanently in Serie A.
However, the mix didn’t work and now the question is whether to give a new chance to players who have a very respectable CV. And that could revive certain glories in another tactical context and with a different coach to stimulate them. Confirmation will depend on Dionysus’ ideas and his needs. Furthermore, a practical aspect must be considered, namely that it is difficult to completely rebuild a squad, as well as sell, or confirm without believing it, members with heavy salaries and all in their thirties (Lucioni will be 37 in September and Ceccaroni is from ’95). The ongoing reflection is therefore essential: if everyone left, it would be necessary to revolutionize the central defense (Marconi has already left, not even Nedelcearu and Graves are certain of staying) and the external attacking park.
