Exequiel Zeballos' Unexpected Move to Monza: A Scenic Route to Serie A
Exequiel Zeballos was supposed to walk out at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in blue. Instead, he stepped into Italy through a different door, landing at Monza on deadline day in one of the more intriguing late twists of the window.
A few weeks ago, the deal with Napoli looked ready to go. Personal terms? Agreed. The project? Attractive. The price? Not enough. Boca Juniors turned down an offer in the region of €10m plus add-ons, slamming the brakes on a move that had seemed inevitable.
Napoli moved on. Monza did not hesitate.
With Zeballos’ contract at Boca running down and set to expire on December 31, Monza pounced. The club secured 60 per cent of his rights for around €4m, leaving Boca with a hefty 40 per cent stake in any future sale. For the Argentines, it’s a bet on upside. For Monza, it’s a cut‑price shot at a player who was on the verge of joining one of Serie A’s heavyweights.
The 24-year-old landed in Milan and walked into a new life at pace.
“It all happened so fast, I will speak with coach Ivan Juric today,” he told reporters at the airport, still catching his breath from a whirlwind few days.
The choice of country was never really in doubt.
“I wanted to come to Italy because my father's idol is Maradona,” he said, tying his own journey to the legend who still defines the footballing bond between Argentina and Naples.
Napoli’s shadow still hangs over the move. The conversation inside the Boca dressing room had already turned to Serie A, and one voice in particular carried weight: Leandro Paredes. The former Roma and Juventus midfielder knows the league, knows the pressure, knows the stadiums.
“It's true, Paredes gave me a lot of advice, especially when we were talking about Napoli,” Zeballos admitted.
Those talks did not produce a move to the south, but they did help prepare him for Italy. Now the advice will be put to use in red and white rather than sky blue.
On the pitch, Monza are getting a wide attacker who offers flexibility and end product. Zeballos can play on either flank, comfortable driving in from the left or holding width on the right. Across 140 competitive games for Boca Juniors, he produced 16 goals and 16 assists – not superstar numbers, but a solid platform for a player entering his prime.
He arrives from a club where pressure is stitched into the shirt. Nights at La Bombonera, Copa Libertadores battles like the clash with Cruzeiro in Buenos Aires, have already hardened him. Monza may be labelled Serie A minnows, but they are ambitious ones, and Zeballos walks into a project that wants to punch above its weight.
Napoli thought they had found a sharp, high-upside signing and watched the deal slip away. Monza quietly stepped in and took the swing instead.
Now the question moves from boardrooms to the pitch: did a title contender let a gem slide into someone else’s hands, or has Zeballos simply chosen the perfect place to grow before the next big leap?
