What does Del Neri need from the central midfield in his 4-4-2?
Obviously one midfielder who can defend well, breakdown opposition attacks but also offer passing skills as you dont want a player there who cant pass and keep it flowing well.
The other midfielder needs to be an all rounder type...good passing skills, offers good offensive skills..pure box to box type player.
Currently, i think we have 2 midfielders who are capable of playing the box to box type midfielder, those being Marchisio and Candreva. Both haven't proven they are super stars, but i believe both have the goods to make it.
The more defensive role is the main concern. Whilst sissoko rocks at breaking legs and stopping teams from attacking in midfield, he lacks decent passking skills, an area which will not be welcomed in that type of midfield. Melo has a bit of everything, but isnt great at anything...he doesnt breakdown the attacks like sissoko, but has the ability to pass and a do a bit more when moving forward. Last but not least, Poulsen probably suits that role thes best out of all 3. In fact, when he played towards the end of the season with Marchisio, we actually looked a lot better in midfield.
Del Neri will obvisouly try a lot of different things pre-season, but i think Sissoko and Melo could both be shown the door if they dont suit Del Neri's midfield. I'm not saying Palombo is the solution, but we need a player to partner Marchisio or Candreva who will suit the overall tactics.