Reports from Italy claim that Bologna’s sporting director is in London having talks with Fulham about a possible January transfer move for striker Pablo Daniel Osvaldo.

West Ham have pulled out of a proposed deal to bring the former Fiorentina forward to Upton Park, with sporting director Gianluca Nani apparently telling Bologna that Gianfranco Zola wanted to focus on other targets. ilcalciomercato.it say that the Bologna director of sport, Fabrizio Salvatori, is in London talking to Fulham about a deal for Osvaldo.

Osvaldo has only been at Bologna since January, having moved from Fiorentina for €7m. He shot to prominence last March when he headed in a late winner against fierce rivals Juventus and was then sent off after receiving a second caution for removing his shirt and ‘machine gunning’ his own fans in the same manner as Fiorentina legend Gabriel Batistuta. His spectacular bicycle kick against Torina secured Fiorentina’s participation in the Champions’ League for 2008-09 but he has been a peripheral figure since his move to Bologna.

Though the Goal report describes him as ‘the Argentine hitman,’ Osvaldo made 12 appearances for the Italian under-21 side despite being born in Buenos Aires. He scored twice, one of them being the winner against Chile in the 2008 Toulon Tournament final.

This might just be unsubstantiated rumour-mongering on a slow news day in Italy – who knows?

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