Turin Transfer Market: A Solution for the Midfielder Rejected by Ignazio Abate
Ivan Ilic continues to train separately despite having no physical issues. The Serbian midfielder is no longer part of Torino’s plans, and the club is looking to find him a new home on the transfer market before the summer window closes. His contract with Torino runs through June 2027.
A return to the Netherlands—a league the former Hellas Verona player is already familiar with thanks to his previous stint with NAC Breda—could be on the horizon. Utrecht, which has suffered two losses in its first two Eredivisie matches, is reportedly interested in him. The Dutch club has reportedly made initial inquiries to gauge the feasibility of a potential transfer.
However, this is not the only viable option. In recent weeks, there have also been contacts from the Bundesliga, with Mainz and Freiburg making exploratory inquiries about the Serbian midfielder. On the Italian front, however, Frosinone—newly promoted to Serie A—was the first club to take concrete action, testing the waters to understand the terms of a potential deal.
Ilic’s situation has progressively deteriorated during summer training. Upon returning from the training camp in Pinzolo, head coach Ignazio Abate and sporting director Gianluca Petrachi expected to see significant improvement from the player, particularly in terms of intensity and determination. However, the hoped-for response never materialized, and the Serbian player slipped permanently to the fringes of the coaching staff’s plans, to the point that he was no longer called up for the team’s final matches.
The player’s recent history also plays a role in this situation: back problems had already severely hampered him last season, limiting him to about ten league appearances. Now, at 25, Ilic must choose the best path forward to regain playing time and consistency.
From a financial standpoint, Torino aims to recoup some of the investment made in January 2023, when it spent over 16 million euros to acquire him from Verona. His market value has since dropped significantly, and Torino is aware that this transfer window represents one of the last opportunities to profit from his departure, before his contract—which expires in 2027—effectively makes him a free agent.
