Atlanta may take a step back soon. Long story short their top players are getting older and they're having more difficulty replacing those guys but overall yes.
Busio needs a manager who will kick his butt. Busio is very talented and, in general, I love his play when he contributes. However, he doesn't run enough and doesn't insert himself into the group play often enough. He is not assertive, let alone aggressive. He'll never be an adequate squad member until he pushes himself more and plays closer to the "edge" of the game. Just my humble opinion.
Fair enough, I can def see where you are coming from. However, I would say that could be more due to his play style. Less intensity and more cerebral. If he is getting his positioning correct, he doesn’t need to run at 100mph just to run at 100mph. Granted his positioning and reading of the game isn’t good enough at the moment. So at 19 years old on relegation candidates, he has to play with more intensity. If he gets the opportunity to play at a team that will spend more time on the ball, I think he will flourish.
But I would also agree about the manager who would kick his butt. Pirlo and Pogba (similar mannerisms on the pitch imo) both had Conte as their manager. Pirlo was for more of a career renaissance and Pogba had a bit of a career launcher.
As much as it pains me to say, they already took that step back. Their form in nearly all of 2022 was atrocious, and they didn't even qualify for the low-level Europa Conference League. The older players still performed well enough...when they were healthy for long enough to get a run of games...which becomes less frequent with age. But injuries were generally a nightmare. Jeremie Boga came along too slowly as the midfield upgrade. He showed promise late in the season, but not enough, and not soon enough. Losing Robin Gosens was inevitable, but also hurt long-term. Ruslan Malinovskyi was also off his game late in the season, for very understandable reasons. The hope is that the new, rich American owner will invest in some fancy players and return them to their recent top-four glory. However, him (unsuccessfully) going after Chelsea within a couple months of taking over Atalanta has not exactly instilled fans with a ton of confidence that he's fully in the game. Also, his awkward "victory lap" in front of the fan section before the EL game against Leipzig (which was not even close to a victory), a few hours after the news broke that he was pursuing Chelsea ownership, made him look a bit like a buffoon. Send Busio to Atalanta. Gian Piero Gasperini will kick his butt...literally...he has a history with players that don't live up to his expectation.
I know Sassuolo was mentioned as one of several interested teams a while back, but here's an item in today's Gazzetta dello Sport identifying them more specifically: https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Calc...-sampdoria-4401413634025/busio-sassuolo.shtml Busio to Sassuolo The US regista discovered by Venezia can only leave if a serious proposal arrives; the Emilians [Sassuolo] are able to make it.
The new sporting season officially began on 1 July and, at the same time, the summer transfer market session. Waiting for the most important hits, let’s take a look at the line-ups of the 20 teams that will take part in the Serie B 2022/2023 with the current staff (in CAPITALS the new signings): Venice (4-3-1-2): JORONEN; ZAMPANO, WISNIEWSKI, Ceccaroni, ZABALA; ANDERSEN, Busio, Cuisance; Aramu; CONNOLLY, PIERINI. Trainer: Javorcic. https://metajaunnews.com/2022/07/15...cal-formations-of-the-twenty-serie-b-teams-3/
Is what official? It’s someone’s idea of what the 20 Serie B starting lineups might look like given the teams’ NEW SIGNINGS.
La Gazzetta dello Sport today reports that Sassuolo have identified Busio as the replacement for Davide Frattesi, if Frattesi is sold. Elsewhere, Sassuolo have acknowledged that they're currently negotiating to sell Frattesi to Roma, but that there's still a lot of work to do before the club reach an agreement.
Tanner and Gianluca.#ArancioNeroVerde 🟠⚫️🟢 pic.twitter.com/PnfjM5uOnH— Venezia FC (@VeneziaFC_EN) July 20, 2022
Played the 2nd half in a friendly: Patrick Leal started in a preseason friendly for Venezia. ✅ pic.twitter.com/4yYjV7tOIa— Lisa Ganley-Leal (@LisaGPhD) July 22, 2022
The latest on the Sassuolo link is that, should they lose midfielder Davide Frattesi (to either Roma or AC Milan, most likely), then Busio will be their number one target. https://www.canalesassuolo.it/il-supermercato-sassuolo-no-ora-si-pensa-solo-ai-colpi-in-entrata/ https://www.gazzetta.it/Calciomerca...ve-milan-seriea-22-luglio-4401530555075.shtml
Staying at Venezia: Gianluca Busio and Venezia are closing in on a contract extension to keep the American midfielder at the club, I'm told. New deal gets rid of current relegation release clause, extends future.Busio, 20, made 29 Serie A apps last season. Will be crucial to promotion push. pic.twitter.com/qlYt8hQ3WN— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) July 26, 2022
A year (or half year) in Serie B certainly eliminates any fleeting hopes of a WC spot, but it feels like a good thing for his long term outlook. Busio (and the whole team really) was thrown into the deep end last year, and now will have a chance to dictate games instead of always being on the back foot. He also still gets to live in Venice.
Does it do? If he plays a key role for his club over the next few months, I'd say he still has a strong shot at making the squad.