adminRobson Sharuko
Editor
IF Jordan Zemura moves to Italian Serie A side Udinese, he will be walking into hands of a wealthy Italian family which has perfected the art of recruiting some of the world’s most promising footballers.
The 23-year-old Warriors star has been banished to train with the Bournemouth developmental side after it emerged he could be on his way to Italy at the end of his contract this European summer.
The Cherries have been paying JZ schoolboy wages, despite his growing profile, and interest from other English clubs.
It’s a measure of the Cherries anger that the other player, Jefferson Lerma, whose contract is also ending at the same time as Zemura, has not been banished from the first team squad, even though is yet to commit to a new deal.
Bournemouth claim Lerma’s representatives have been keeping them updated, and open to negotiations, while Zemura’s agents have kept them in the dark until Udinese’s letter arrived at their offices.
Zemura cannot agree a pre-contract with clubs based in England, until the end of his contract, but he can talk and agree with clubs from mainland Europe.
The Cherries tried to lure him with an improved £30 000 per week age, alongside additional bonuses and achievable salary rises, but Zemura appears to have made up his mind that his future will be better served elsewhere.
If he moves to Udinese, he will join a club owned by the Pozzo family, who also own Grenada in Spain and Watford in England.
“Recruitment is the most famous part of the Pozzo family’s increasingly complex international operation,” the Guardian newspaper noted.
“Their greatest success remains Alexis Sanchez, signed for £1.5m from the Chilean club Cobreloa as a 17-year-old, loaned back to South American clubs for a couple of seasons until considered ready to make an impact in Europe. “He was eventually sold to Barcelona for £30m.
“The same formula remains in active use, the classic Pozzo signing is young, obscure and wildly promising.
“There are three key figures in the Pozzo family. Giampaolo, bought Udinese in 1986 using money from his family’s tool-making business, which was sold in 2008, allowing them to turn their attentions fully towards football.
“His wife, Giuliana, is the granddaughter and the cousin of former Udinese presidents and keeps such a close eye on football.
“The key man, however, the one who fielded those phone calls, is their son Gino, whose arrival on Udinese’s payroll following his graduation in 1993 coincided with the adoption of the scouting-reliant model that has sustained their success ever since.”
Online Reporter