Lecce is on the hunt for a "raider": the club's plans include the arrival of a "box-to-box" midfielder.

LECCE - Seven midfielders participated in the Bressanone training camp and resumed training with Lecce on Wednesday at the Acaya Golf Resort & SPA. These are midfielders Lassana Coulibaly, Mohamed Kaba, Medon Berisha, Torir Helgason, and Hamza Rafia, and center-backs Balthazar Pierret and Ylber Ramadani.

They are joined by Dutchman Olaf Gorter, born in 2005, who was brought in to allow Eusebio Di Francesco to evaluate his qualities. Also on the road to gradual recovery is attacking midfielder Filip Marchwinski, who suffered a serious injury towards the end of last season and has, in fact, never been seen in action.

Despite a certain numerical abundance, the club chaired by Saverio Sticchi Damiani plans to bring in a "box-to-box" midfielder, a modern midfielder capable of operating vertically, covering large areas of the pitch and able to participate both in the non-possession phase, stripping the ball from the opponents' feet, and in the possession phase, offering himself in the attacking phase with the license to finish the play. This is a figure that was felt to be lacking in the 2024/2025 tournament and who is now intended to be made available to Di Francesco. Casting is underway, and further developments are expected between now and the transfer window.

The hiring of a new midfielder will lead to some departures, and two are particularly likely. One is Ramadani. The Albanian is among the players previously mentioned by technical director Pantaleo Corvino as possible departures, as they consider themselves at the end of their career and would like to gain experience elsewhere. To date, the Eagles' national team midfielder has received an offer from the United Arab Emirates, which hasn't entirely convinced him, but his entourage has begun working to find a suitable placement.

The other is Rafia. The Tunisian disappeared from the radar at the end of the 2024/2025 season and doesn't seem to have made a comeback with the arrival of the new coaching staff. Pescara, the club where he played in Serie C, is keen on him, and they would like to see him in Serie B, but he's determined to stay in Serie A or would prefer to move to Ligue 1. His agent is therefore actively evaluating possible options.

What to do with Marchwinski remains to be seen. In the summer of 2024, the Pole arrived in Salento amid much fanfare, considered a player with great potential. Unfortunately, he remained a mystery, as neither Luca Gotti nor Marco Giampaolo deemed him ready to contribute to the top flight. Then he injured himself in training, and now it's safe to assume that, once he's fully recovered, an attempt will be made to put him in a position to play for another team, either on loan or permanently.

The other midfielders registered with Lecce are expected to continue their careers in the Giallorossi shirt.

Lassana Coulibaly was one of the most consistent players in the team that secured a historic third consecutive Serie A relegation and is expected to occupy a starting role in midfield. Unfortunately, he will be leaving the club between December and January as he will be playing for the Mali national team at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The club firmly believes in Kaba. The Frenchman is believed to have failed to reach his full potential, largely due to the serious injury he sustained against Frosinone in the second half of the 2023/24 season, which kept him sidelined for a long time. During pre-season, he appears to have shown significant signs of recovery, and in the second half of the friendly against Carrarese, he moved well, providing promising signs for his future.

Pierret has been designated by Di Francesco to fill the midfield role. Given the delicate nature of the tasks he will be entrusted with, it's to be hoped that both the Pescara-based coach and the Salento club's technical department have made the right decisions. To date, the Frenchman has often played his part in the defensive phase, while he has shown some signs of weakness when called upon to play the game.

Berisha and Helgason are currently competing for the position of quality midfielder, called upon to both insert themselves into the midfield and defend alongside Coulibaly and Pierret. They await the arrival of the box-to-box midfielder who will be included in the squad, with whom they will compete, with the aim of earning a place in the various rotations that will affect the midfield.