Graziano Battistini, agent for players including Genoa`s goalkeeper Nicola Leali, recently spoke to Radio Sportiva regarding the contract situation of his client with the club.
“We anticipate beginning discussions shortly,” Battistini stated, “as that is indeed the objective. Clearly, Genoa has had other urgent priorities recently, but I expect that soon we can start talking about this contract adjustment and renewal, which Nicola has demonstrated he fully deserves.”
Is he currently experiencing the best phase of his career?
“Yes,” Battistini replied. “I find the element of surprise around this interesting, because I`ve been following him since he was very young, but I can understand it exists because people forget that early in his career, he accumulated 100 Serie A appearances, played in the Europa League with Olympiacos, and represented Italy at all youth levels up to the Under 21s. He was always seen as a goalkeeper with significant potential and followed a specific development path. Subsequently, there was a minor sporting setback in Belgium, which somewhat hindered this progression. In football, when you drop a level, you have to rejoin the queue to climb back up. Nicola deserves credit for never giving up and consistently waiting for his opportunity. Apart from Perugia, which didn`t go as planned, he became a fan favorite at Foggia in Serie B, performed exceptionally well at Ascoli, and as soon as he got his chance at Genoa, he continued performing at the level he always has, earning his place in an important club. I`m not surprised at all; he`s been performing at this standard for years.”
