German giants Borussia Dortmund are once again hot on the tails of a new center forward this summer after reports have confirmed Die Schwarzgelben is targetting 27-year-old Giovanni Simeone.
Simeone is coming off a fantastic season on loan at Hellas Verona last term where he scored 17 goals in Serie A while also providing six assists in the league. That return made him the second-highest South American goalscorer in Europe’s top flight leagues in 2021-22 behind Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior and prompted I Mastini to make his loan move from Cagliari permanent earlier this month.
But the Argentine international and son of Atlético Madrid boss Diego Simeone could already be on the march from Verona after Dortmund had to target another central striker in the wake of the heartbreaking news surrounding the serious health concerns of key summer signing Sébastien Haller.
Borussia Dortmund’s bosses plan to travel to Verona on Thursday to conduct negotiations with Hellas in person. There, Borussia Dortmund is said to want to finalise the transfer of Giovanni Simeone.
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According to Spanish publication MARCA as well as Gianluca Di Marzio and German outlet FunkeSport, Dortmund chiefs are scheduled to fly to Italy on Thursday in an attempt to finalize a move for the former River Plate academy graduate who is currently valued at €17m according to Transfermarkt.
The move, should it materialize, could call into question the immediate futures of both Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko.
Adeyemi, one of the brightest young talents in the German player pool at current, just arrived in the Ruhr valley this summer from Austrian giants RB Salzburg amid growing expectations after scoring 19 goals in the Austrian Bundesliga last term despite his age (20) while also starring on multiple Champions League nights for Die Roten Bullen.
However, given the pressure on Dortmund to once again try to properly push German juggernaut Bayern Munich in the title race until the end of the season, a more seasoned striker for current boss Edin Terzić to rely on could be more prudent rather than playing faith in a pair of talented youngsters – irrespective of their level of ability – as well as Donyell Malen, who arrived last summer but struggled to find consistency under former manager Marco Rose.
Despite the question marks, a move for Simeone could certainly be a prudent investment given the potential price point and given reported interest from both Juventus and SCC Napoli, the club will have to move swiftly if they are to have any chance of tempting him away from the cream of the crop in Italy.
