Striker Adrian Mutu has been put on the transfer list by his team
Fiorentina after his suspension for nine months following positive
testing for sibutramine in January.
According to the Italian press, Mutu has been put on the transfer list although his contract runs until 2012.
The Italian club also decided this week that Mutu would be only paid half of his salary.
Romanian striker Mutu transferred to Fiorentina for a 2.2-million-Euro annual salary.
Fiorentina sports manager Pantaleo Corvino was quoted by the Italian press as saying:
"Mutu
made a severe mistake. We're going to talk with Prandelli (the coach),
but one thing is certain. The future of Fiorentina is named Stevan
Jovetic".
Jovetic, 21, transferred to Fiorentina in 2008 for a reported eight million Euros from Serb club Partizan.
Mutu, 31, called "Il Fenomeno" at Fiorentina, was one of its most-admired players.
Mutu is wanted by Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, according to the local press.
Mutu
will be back on the field at the end of October after testing positive
for sibutramine, a banned substance in sporting activity.
He was suspended in February, and his team Fiorentina dropped to 10th place in the Italian Serie A league.
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I honestly think Jovetic deserves his
spot in the lineup, most of the time he plays for them he does
fantastic and he creates a lot of goals and scoring loads himself. I'm
happy for Serb, but also (still) very disappointed at Mutu for having
done this twice in his career... even if it was a very obscure
substance and he may not have known it was illegal (doesn't do much
anyway, more medical than anything), it's still been regarded as
something he shouldn't have used according to the FIGC or whatever. He
should get picked up by a team like Galatasaray or Fehnerbace or that
Al-Sadd club... not the best teams but still not bad at all, I would
like to see him play for the same team as Hagi did for a bit of his
career (Galatasaray).