Cassano ponders Italian return Tuesday 11 April, 2006
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Antonio Cassano could be on the verge of ending his Real Madrid career in favour of a return to Italian football.
Reports in Spain and Italy over the past few days are suggesting that the youngster may be tempted for a quick peninsula comeback after failing to settle at the Bernabeu.
Juventus, at the request of boss Fabio Capello who coached him at Roma, and Inter are monitoring his situation with interest.
Cassano only joined the Madrid outfit in January after Roma accepted a £3.5m offer for the player who would have been out of contract in June.
Although the attacker had hoped that his Real move would help him regain his form in time for the World Cup, the youngster who the Giallorossi signed for £20m has disappointed.
In the 97 days that he has been with Real, Cassano has played just 479 minutes which have been spread over 14 games.
He’s only scored twice, against Real Betis and Atletico Madrid, while he’s been handed a starting jersey on just three occasions.
His lack of an impact is now also starting to lead to jeers from disgruntled fans and criticism from the Spanish media who did hail his arrival just a matter of months ago.
Cassano will now ponder his options at the end of the season and may consider an exit with Juventus still keen.
Capello has always insisted that Cassano is the future of Italian football and a summer bid could take place.
Especially with some reports in Italy on Tuesday suggesting that Alessandro Del Piero could leave his beloved Old Lady in the summer for an experience abroad.
Yet Inter are also in the running if they decide to refresh their attacking options given the uncertainty over whether Adriano is part of their new project or not.
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