Lecce's "showcase" is also tempting for the big teams

LECCE - In the squad that has earned permanence in the top division, conquering the Olimpico in Rome and winning the match with Lazio, there are players who, over the months, have deserved the attention of other clubs, who in the next market could try to secure their services. Some of them will most likely leave the Giallorossi club, others will continue their journey in Salento also in 2025/2026.

The star of the team is undoubtedly the center forward Nikola Krstovic, the team's top scorer. In his first competitive season in Italy, 2023/2024, the Montenegrin contributed to the permanence of the team led first by Roberto D'Aversa and then by Luca Gotti with 7 goals and 2 assists in 35 matches played out of 38, missing just 3, one because he had recently arrived in Lecce, one for technical choice and one for disqualification. In 2024/2025, the former Dunajsca Streda, the club from which Pantaleo Corvino and Stefano Trinchera hired him with great flair, improved, scoring 11 goals and producing 4 assists in 37 matches played out of 38, remaining out only once because stopped by the sports judge.

All the top Italian clubs have shown interest in Krstovic over the course of the season. In January, it was rumored that Milan had offered 20 million euros to bring him to the Rossoneri in July, leaving him in Giallorossi until the end of the championship. But from the rooms of Via Colonel Costadura, the Milanese directors apparently received a firm "no". Before the "Diavolo", Betis Sevilla had come forward. Now it seems that Roma, Torino and Lazio have also set their sights on him. It is very likely, therefore, that in the coming weeks the Montenegrin could be sold, guaranteeing a capital gain very close to that recorded by the transfer of Patrick Dorgu to Manchester United. In fact, Lecce values ​​Krstovic at between 25 and 30 million euros, a ceiling that makes his transfer abroad more likely than to Italy.

Another possible departure is left-back Antonino Gallo, who announced before the start of the tournament that the upcoming season would be his last in the Giallorossi jersey. Last summer, the defender from Palermo, born in 2000, was long linked to Roma but, by his own admission, the most concrete offers came from foreign clubs. He is coming off a season in which he initially confirmed his performance at the levels shown in the second half of 2023/2024 but then, after being slowed down by a couple of injuries, he struggled to return to the top.

Goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone closed the championship with an insurmountable wall on Sunday in the match against Lazio. He has been less consistent than in the previous two years, but between the posts he is an absolutely reliable goalkeeper, among the best around, while he gives something away on the way out. It has been speculated that Torino could swoop in on him with conviction if Vanja Milinkovic-Savic were to settle in the Premier League. But we wouldn't be surprised if he stayed in Salento, where he is highly esteemed by everyone.

For central defender Federico Baschirotto, the same argument made for Falcone applies in large part. The captain has been less performing than in the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 seasons, in which he played alongside two superior teammates in Samuel Umtiti and Marin Pongracic, who had the task of starting the action and who commanded the department. But he is gifted with great physicality and should be considered an effective marker. There has also been talk of interest from Torino for him, while in the past he was eyed by Fiorentina. Considering that he is an emblem of Lecce and that he feels the yellow and red jersey as a second skin, he could even stay.

Gallo, Falcone and Baschirotto have been involved in all three Serie A salvations achieved by the club chaired by Saverio Sticchi Damiani. Krstovic in the last two. But even among the purchases made in the summer of 2024, there are some who could be the subject of advances by clubs interested in their performances. The men in question are midfielder Lassana Coulibaly, centre-back Kialonda Gaspar and left-back Tete Morente (for whom there was an assault from abroad already in the January market). Without forgetting that midfielder Ylber Ramadani also has a market, despite a rather complicated year that could lead him to ask for a change of scenery.