Article by Jean Luca Mascaro
The Montreal Impact have not started this 2017-2018 MLS season on the right foot as points have been hard to come by. They are currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings as they have only accumulated 7 points out of 8 games. There will likely be good news soon for Joey Saputo and his team since Blerim Dzemaili is set to arrive in Montreal.
As Gianlucadimarzio.com recently revealed, Bologna are set to let the Swiss international leave earlier than expected since they mathematically assured their stay in next year’s Italian Serie A with 4 games to spare. Let’s not forget that the MLS transfer window will be closing on May 8th 2017 and reopens again in July. Since Dzemaili’s arrival will occur before May 8th, the Montreal Impact will get an extra 2 months of his presence. This is a good thing for a team that needs a spark to get their season going.
Let’s take a closer look at what Dzemaili can bring to the Impact. First of all the 31 year old will bring experience and international pedigree that has seemingly been missing since Drogba’s departure. He has 55 international caps with the Swiss National Football team and has scored 6 international goals for them. He has participated in a few prestigious tournaments as he was a member of the 2014 World Cup Team and the 2016 Euro Team with Switzerland.
On a club level note, he has gained a lot of experience playing for Zurich, Bolton, Galatasaray as well as Torino, Parma, Napoli, Genoa and Bologna in the Italian league. This season with Bologna he has really played at high levels, scoring 8 Serie A goals and adding 3 Serie A assists in 29 starts for the club. To put these numbers in perspective, only Marek Hamsik (Napoli) and Radja Nainggolan (Roma) have scored more than him from the midfield position. In 2016-2017 he was one of the best players for his team and for this reason I am sure he will adapt well with the Montreal Impact in the MLS.
For anyone who has not been as familiar with his style of play, the 31 year old is your classic Box to Box midfielder. He has also been used at times at the attacking midfield position as he is very good to support the attack with timely runs. Dzemaili is also well known for his long range shots and his precise passing. He is a very complete player who will likely be a real asset to the Montreal Impact. There are many good players in the MLS but he has the experience to be one of the top midfielders in the league.
Montreal’s season has started very slowly but considering what Dzemaili can bringon and off the field, this might be the needed spark to revive Joey Saputo’s team’s season. He will join Marco Donadel and Matteo Mancosu who have also played in the Italian Serie A. The Impact’s next game will be against DC United on Saturday, May 6th 2017.
