Bologna are increasingly pushing to extend the contract of coach Thiago Motta until the end of June 2025, with the interest of Inter and Paris Saint-Germain in appointing him looming in the background.
This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who report that with the growing sense that the 40-year-old has a future at a top club, the Rossoblu want to secure his immediate future and put themselves in a good position for when he leaves.
Motta only joined Bologna in the fall to replace Sinisa Mihaijlovic after the former coach had to depart due to illness.
The former Nerazzurri, PSG, and Genoa midfielder joined on a two-year deal which expires at the end of June 2024.
In only a few months of work, Motta has massively impressed with the job he has done, and the Gazzetta note that Bologna would be in sixth in the Serie A table based only on their results since the current coach’s arrival.
The 40-year-old former midfielder had already started to win plaudits for the job he did in his one season in charge of Spezia, but the sense is that he is now a hotter property than ever.
The fact that Motta has connections to both Inter and PSG from his playing days, and that there is a growing sense that either of the pair could be looking to replace their current coaches soon, has meant that his name has been persistently linked to both European giants.
As the praise starts to rain down on Motta from fellow coaches like Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini, then, it increasingly looks all but certain that bigger things are in the 40-year-old’s future.
Bologna are not inured to this fact, but they are still keen to keep hold of Motta in the immediate future.
Moreover, the Emilian club could look to capitalize on Motta’s eventual departure financially, rather than simply losing their coach when his contract is up and he leaves for a bigger club.
As such, the Gazzetta reports, Bologna are working to extend Motta’s deal by one season, until the end of June 2025, and potentially inserting a release clause so that they can get a significant fee from whichever big club in Serie A or elsewhere on the continent decides to bring him in.
