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Over a month ago, Liverpool and Sunderland settled on a non-insignificant amount of money for the sale of Fabio Borini. That amount, believed to be in the region of £14m, was terrific from a Liverpool perspective and a statement of intent from the Wearside club, and most had expected a deal to be finalized shortly after the fee was agreed. Most except Fabio Borini, who's yet to agree personal terms amid rumors that he's content to stay and fight at Liverpool, or looking for higher wages, or interested in possibly heading back to Italy.
Whatever the case, what's certain is that Borini hasn't made up his mind yet, leaving Sunderland in the dark as to whether or not they'll get the man they've been chasing all summer. Good thing Gus Poyet is stubborn:
"Nothing has changed. It's the same as last week. It's still on, nothing has changed for good or for bad. We're still trying."
From a Liverpool perspective there appears to be increasingly little space in which Borini can operate, though the club aren't necessarily pushing him out the door. Mario Balotelli will come in as direct competition for Daniel Sturridge's spot as the first option up top, ending up as second-choice at worst, while Rickie Lambert serves as a reliable option off the bench. That leaves Borini likely as fourth-choice, and from the wide areas the presence of Lazar Markovic, Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho, and even Jordan Henderson makes time scarce in Borini's second option as well.
He's forever in transition--five different clubs in as many years, never longer than a full season at any of them, and now, once again, uncertainty about his future reigns. Hopefully he settles somewhere, and that this is the last summer he spends wondering where he'll end up.
