Nottingham Forest were not the only ones left with a rather sour taste in their mouths when Alessandro Buongiorno admitted last week that talks over a new deal with Serie A outfit Torino were underway.
“We are talking about a (contract) renewal with the club,” he told La Stampa. “If I think about my future, I tell myself Torino must become a point of arrival and not (a club where you) pass by.
“It will become like this if we raise the bar of ambitions that each of us has, myself included.”
Buongiorno had played his way onto Nottingham Forest’s radar during an excellent breakthrough season at the Granata; a full debut for the Italian national team during Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the Netherlands testament to how far the 24-year-old has come in such a short space of time.
Rangers, meanwhile, might have also been watching Buongiorno’s situation with interest.
Not because Ibrox is an alternative destination for the stylish, ball-playing centre-half. He is likely to be well beyond Mick Beale’s financial means. But because Buongiorno might have replaced a man very high on Rangers’ wishlist as the Premiership giants turn their attention to bringing in a new left-footed defender to fill a Filip Helander-shaped hole.
Rangers’ Jonathan Panzo pursuit in limbo
“Talks continue over Jonathan Panzo deal as many clubs want him,” Fabrizio Romano wrote on Twitter a few days back. “Rangers are insisting.”
According to the Daily Record, Rangers are willing to stump up £2 million for the former Chelsea youngster; so impressive during his ‘outstanding’ loan spell at Championship play-off finalists Coventry City.
Any Nottingham Forest departure, however, may rest on the City Ground outfit first bringing in a successor. Especially after both Scott McKenna and Moussa Niakhate – Forest’s other left-sided options – endured injury-hit 2022/23 campaigns.
Buongiorno would have certainly fit the bill.
But with the newly-capped Italy international ready to commit his future to Torino instead, Buongiorno is sending ripples from the River Trent all the way to Rangers.
