Romanian trio make Genoa move

Italian club Genoa 1893 have increased their Romanian contingent to four with the purchase of three Divizia A players.

Dinamo duo
The Serie B side, who signed midfield player Paul Codrea last year, have bought FC Dinamo Bucuresti and Romania pair Valentin Nastase and Adrian Mihalcea, as well as FC Universitatea Craiova midfield player Marius Sava. Genoa have followed the lead of Brescia Calcio (1992/93) and Galatasaray SK (1996/97) in becoming only the third club from outside Romania to have four players from the country on their books at the same time.

Three-year contracts
Both Nastase, a 27-year-old defender who cost €550,000, and striker Mihalcea, a €900,000 signing, have agreed three-year contracts. Sava has signed on loan until the summer for €200,000, with a view to a permanent €1.4m transfer. The only one of the three yet to win full international honours, the 23-year-old Sava is rated as one of Romanian football's brightest talents.

Transfer collapsed
Genoa tried to sign the Dinamo duo last year, with Mihalcea, who has 15 caps, even signing a contract, but the deal never materialised because of the financial situation at the Luigi Ferraris stadium. The collapse of the transfer was particularly galling for Mihalcea who had seen moves to Spanish side Deportivo Alavés and Grasshopper-Club in Switzerland fall through in similar fashion. However, the deal has now reached a satisfactory conclusion for all parties concerned