Busio Transfer Rumors Heat Up with the Price Rumored at $7 Million Plus

Things are starting to get serious. There have been Gianluca Busio to [insert European team here] for literally years. Often to Italian teams, due to him holding a passport there through his father, but lots of other countries have been in the mix as well. While nothing is final, new reporting shows interest is heating up for the Sporting Kansas City player.

Tom Bogert, of MLSsoccer.com, is reporting that “Serie A club Venezia FC [are] inching closer...” with a report of a deal in “the region of $7m + sell-on [percentage].” That’s up from the $6 million that Italian club Sassuolo were rumored to be offering.

Bogert also is reporting that a Belgian club is right there along with Venezia as the clubs “in front” but that there are other clubs still “in the mix.”

Friend of The Blue Testament and Last Word on Soccer reporter, Daniel Sperry, hypothesized that the Belgian club could be Genk, where former SKC staff member Michel Ribeiro now works. That would make sense. The two would have crossed paths before Ribeiro departed to head back to Europe.

In related news, Jeff Carlise of ESPN is reporting that FC Dallas midfielder Tanner Tessmann is already headed to Italy to join Venezia. That could mean two young American’s are fighting for time in the midfield on newly promoted Venezia. Tessmann’s deal is reportedly for $2.5 million and is just pending medicals.

Who are Venezia FC?

The “Winged Lions” are a newly promoted club in Italy that finished 5th in Serie B last season and moved up via the promotion playoffs. They play their matches at Stadio Pier Luigi Penz in Venice. The location is more than 100 years old and only holds 7,450 fans, far less than the nearly 20,000 that can be seated in Children’s Mercy Park.

The club has a recently tumultuous history. During the 2015-16 season, Venezia earned promotion from Serie D to Serie C (they were in the fourth division so recently). This is after a group of American investors rescued the team out of bankruptcy and rebranded the club. The following season they were promoted again, this time to Serie B. Four seasons later, they are in the top flight in Italy. Just one year earlier they barely avoided relegation by a mere five points.

The upcoming season will be Venezia’s first in the Serie A in 19 years.

Does this Move Make Sense?

A move for Busio of this magnitude (around $7 million plus a sell on fee) would be a club record for both Venezia on an incoming transfer and Sporting KC on an outgoing transfer. That surely means he will be a regular on the team and he’ll play a lot.

However, that would also seem to potentially mean it’s unlikely he’d be loaned back to Sporting Kansas City for the remainder of 2021 (pure speculation on my part). They would seemingly need him to stay in Serie A and avoid relegation, which seems likely to be a year long battle.

That would be a big blow to SKC’s season as Busio has played a vital role. I’d personally not hate to see KC get less up front and push for a trophy by keeping Busio on loan with them through 2021 and sending him to his new club in the winter. But it’s not my money. Or my career.

If he does go to Venezia, they have a pretty slick jersey (we’d have to get one, right?) and the club is going full silly season with rumors of former Toronto FC star Sebastian Giovinco coming to the club too.

As always, The Blue Testament will bring you more on these rumors (and others) if and when something officially happens.