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Udinese striker Davis urges Zaniolo return amid contract stand-off
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- Udinese striker Davis urges Zaniolo return amid contract stand-off
Udinese striker Davis urges Zaniolo return amid contract stand-off
Keinan Davis has added his voice to Udinese 's efforts to resolve the Nicolò Zaniolo saga, with the striker making clear the squad wants their star man back among them.
With quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb , Davis was speaking at the presentation of Udinese's new home shirt, and addressed the absence of a teammate locked in a contractual stand-off with the club.
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"Nico is a very strong player, obviously we'd all have wanted him with us now," Davis said. "We all love him, but the team is strong and many of last season's players are still here. I repeat, the team is strong, obviously with Nico it would be even stronger, and we hope to see him here soon."
UDINE, ITALY – APRIL 18: Nicolò Zaniolo of Udinese looks on during the warm up ahead of the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and Parma Calcio 1913 at Stadio Friuli on April 18, 2026 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)
Zaniolo absent from Udinese training amid contract dispute
The backdrop is a dispute that has soured what looked like a success story.
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Udinese exercised their option to sign Zaniolo permanently from Galatasaray in June after an excellent season of five goals and five assists, but the forward has yet to countersign the new deal, with the disagreement reportedly centring on how much of his salary is tied to bonus targets.
He has stayed away from training as a result, and Milan , Juventus and Lazio are all monitoring the impasse.
Davis, for his part, preferred to accentuate the positives of pre-season.
"It's nice to be back training, we're working hard but we have a good group. It's the third year with Runjaic and our relationship has improved," he said. "I can't wait to improve myself, and if we stay united we can do even better than last season in terms of the table."
