Turin Transfer Market: Good News from Sassuolo
Sassuolo’s sporting director, Francesco Palmieri, has decided to make a move for Ignace Van Der Brempt, who is now considered surplus to requirements at Como. Negotiations quickly gained momentum, allowing the parties to reach an agreement based on 8.5 million euros plus bonuses. The exchange of documents needed to finalize the deal is scheduled for Saturday.
The decision to make a decisive move for the former Hamburg and Salzburg player was also influenced by the difficulties encountered regarding Rafik Belghali. Sassuolo had already reached an agreement with Verona—which, in the meantime, had secured itself by signing Gabriele Zappa—but failed to reach a final agreement with the player. Belghali, in fact, continues to evaluate his future and is maintaining contact with several clubs. Among them are Torino, which now has a clear path to signing him, and Olympiacos, which has turned its attention to Dodô after previously showing interest in the Algerian winger.
Belghali had long been the focus of attention in the Italian transfer market. A right-back of Algerian descent born in Leuven in 2002, he joined Verona in the summer of 2025 as a replacement for Jackson Tchatchoua, who was sold to Wolverhampton. The Gialloblù had signed him on a permanent basis from KV Mechelen, where he had made 36 appearances in his final season in the Pro League, contributing one goal and one assist. He had signed a contract with Verona through June 2029, but the club’s relegation to Serie B at the end of last season has prompted them to consider selling him to recoup their investment.
Torino therefore remains the front-runner to secure the Algerian’s services. The need to find a reinforcement on the right wing has become urgent following the departure of Pedersen, and Belghali had been identified by Torino’s management as the ideal candidate to fill that void. The Piedmontese side had initially held back, convinced that the player was now headed to Sassuolo, but the slowdown in negotiations with the Neroverdi—apparently due in part to certain demands made by the player himself—has reopened the door for Torino to make a decisive move.
On the Verona front, the signing of Gabriele Zappa from Cagliari represents the club’s concrete response to Belghali’s potential departure. The Brianza-born fullback, who came up through Inter’s youth system, arrives on loan with an obligation to buy should certain conditions be met. Zappa brings a wealth of experience with him: with Cagliari, he played five seasons in Serie A and one in Serie B, totaling 215 appearances, 6 goals, and 13 assists. Among the most memorable moments of his time with the Rossoblù was the decisive assist for Pavoletti’s goal in the 90th minute plus 4 seconds of the June 2023 playoff final against Bari, which secured the Sardinians’ return to the top flight.
As for Olympiacos, the Greek club has decisively shifted its focus to Fiorentina’s Dodô, abandoning the Belghali pursuit. The Greeks, owned—like Nottingham Forest—by shipowner Evangelos Marinakis, have entered the race for the Brazilian fullback, while the London club has raised its offer from 7 to 9 million euros plus bonuses, moving closer to the 10-million-euro valuation set by Fiorentina’s sporting director Fabio Paratici.
