Comeback Day for Mutu and Di Canio Friday 6 August, 2004
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Today should see pen put to paper as Adrian Mutu and Paolo Di Canio stage their comeback to Serie A for Juve and Lazio respectively.
Although Chelsea issued a denial yesterday afternoon, Mutu’s three agents insist a contract will be signed over the weekend.
“Roman Abramovich had put a stop to everything on Thursday,” revealed Andrea Pretti, “but then Jose Mourinho intervened and sorted it out. We should complete the loan move on Friday.”
Juventus representatives are keeping tight-lipped about the affair, but they had already shown marked interest in the former Parma forward last summer.
Chelsea had dived in with a £15.8m cash bid that took him to the Premiership, only for a promising start to be sullied by injury and personality clashes.
Another fiery figure is making his return to Serie A this weekend, as Paolo Di Canio (pictured) has flown out to Rome in order to sign a new reduced wage deal with Lazio.
Charlton Athletic had initially ruled out his return to Serie A, but this morning finally admitted he had flown out to the Peninsula in order to “urgently address some personal issues.”
It was new President and majority shareholder Claudio Lotito who convinced Di Canio to come back and take a leadership role within the Lazio side.
The 36-year-old began his career with the Capital club in 1986 and moved on to Juventus four seasons later, but never hid his desire to end his playing days at the Stadio Olimpico.
The fan favourite was so eager to seal this switch that he accepted a massive pay cut, signing a two-year contract worth just £165,000 a season.
Channel4.com