Torino guarantees Simeone and Zapata: Abate starts the season with attacking duo

Torino shields Simeone and Zapata: no goodbyes for Cholito and renewal until 2028 to dilute the Colombian's salary. Ignazio Abate begins his journey at the helm of Torino with a promising attacking duo. From the end of the last championship until the last days of June, there was the expectation that Torino could lose both Giovanni Simeone and Duvan Zapata in a single move. Market speculation intensified, especially with statements from the players themselves who raised the warning flag. "I've always said that River Plate is a club where I feel at home and that one day I would like to return, I still have a great desire to prove myself there", said Cholito a few weeks ago; "Theoretically I am, but in practice you never know, as the future is uncertain and no one knows it, not even me: focus on the present and then we'll see", commented the captain. Furthermore, the ages of the players, with the Argentine turning 31 on July 5th and the Colombian already turning 35, combined with two hefty salaries, seemed to indicate a double separation in the summer.


In the last few hours, however, the situation has changed drastically. There was expectation surrounding the meeting between Simeone and Torino's top management to discuss the future: Cholito did not hide his homesickness from President Cairo, but the club did not receive satisfactory offers that would justify negotiating with River Plate. Thus, the black smoke between the two clubs materialized, and Simeone decided to continue with the Granata project, making his departure in this transfer window surprising. What about Zapata? For him, there were no major interests, it was more like Torino looking for a solution to get rid of a heavy salary of more than 2.5 million euros net per season. A high value for a club like Granata, and also for an important player, but one that needs to be managed due to his age and the serious injury suffered in October 2024, from which he recovered well. The parties are finding a middle ground, with the solution being to extend his salary for another season, with the contract being extended from June 2027 to June 2028. In this aspect, optimism is also palpable, with the Cairo-Petrachi duo close to closing an agreement with Zapata and his staff. Therefore, with this turnaround, new coach Ignazio Abate can resume working with the same duo that Marco Baroni and Roberto D'Aversa had previously established. The expectation is that Simeone and Zapata will remain at the center of Torino's attack next season.


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