Sporting KC teen Gianluca Busio is generating interest from these international clubs
Gianluca Busio moved out at 14 years old, embarking on a soccer career in Kansas City before he could drive a car.
Four years later, might a bigger move be lurking for the youngest signing in Sporting Kansas City history?
Several international clubs have shown renewed interest in acquiring Busio on a transfer after the most consistent run of games of in his career, multiple sources told The Star, confirmed by his agent and the club. Busio turned 18 in May.
A transfer is not imminent, and Sporting KC is not shopping Busio nor particularly motivated to make a move. His contract runs through 2022.
But foreign teams hope to change his future sooner rather than later. Five have been among the most serious suitors — Italian clubs Juventus, Fiorentina, Napoli, Venezia FC and more recently A.S. Roma. Busio’s father is Italian. A year ago, Fiorentina offered approximately 3 million euros for a transfer, the equivalent to about $3.5 million, sources said.
That offer was rejected last August. Sporting Kansas City did not proffer a counter. It has yet to set a price tag on Busio, even in private conversations with other clubs, sources said, a sign that it is in no hurry to end the relationship or that it at least does not intend to blink first. For homegrown players, the club keeps all of a transfer payment.
But whatever the price might be, it has only increased in recent weeks. Busio started six consecutive matches while filling in for Ilie Sanchez in the defensive midfield. He’s flourished there, a position in which he had never previously played. The transition has been made easier by his technical soundness, though those who know him best laud his mental maturity. Busio has one goal, the lone tally in a draw in Colorado two weeks ago.
“All of a sudden, because he’s played 4-5-6 games in a row, and he’s done quite well, there’s been some tire-kicking from some teams,” said Brian Bliss, Sporting KC’s technical director. “But that’s how I would describe it — there have been inquiries.”
Busio’s agent, Mike Senkowski, confirmed interest “at varying levels” and said other teams beyond those five “are floating on the periphery,” keeping an eye on Busio. Those teams, Senkowski said, reside in France, England, Italy and Holland.
Busio arrived in Kansas City at 14 and moved in with a host family. His parents live 1,000 miles away, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He graduated an online high school program while living in KC.
He career is proof of the benefits of the Sporting Kansas City Academy program, where he spent more than a year before signing with the first team in August 2017, 89 days after he’d turned 15, the second youngest signing in MLS history. He since became the third youngest to start a match and the second youngest to score in one. He has five goals in 17 starts in his career, with six of those starts coming in Sporting’s past six games.
But while he has spent crucial developmental years in Kansas City, there is an increased likelihood his long-term future rests elsewhere.
At some point.
“We’re not in a rush,” said Senkowski, his agent. “Sporting has worked hard, starting with (academy director) Jon Parry to (manager) Peter Vermes, to put themselves in a position to have these conversations. And at the same time, Gianluca has worked really hard to develop as a player and command such interest. It takes everyone to make these opportunities happen.”
Senkowski re-iterated that Busio is “focused on helping the first-place team stay in first place. He’s not focused on leaving.”
But a departure is looking like more of a reality, even if it’s not in the current window, which closes overseas on Oct. 5. It’s a reality that Sporting KC has long recognized, and whenever a transfer does happen, even if a year from now, it would represent a notch in the success of the academy pathway.
Sporting KC identified Busio during a youth soccer tournament when he was just 13. They convinced him to tour their facilities, then convinced him to accept a spot in the team’s academy, moving without his parents to a city unfamiliar. Through the academy, led by Parry, his steady development prompted a first-team contract.
In essence, this is part of Sporting’s long-term plan and the reason its owners have invested more than $20 million into the academy. Recruit a player, sell him, and use the funds to supplement the senior roster.
The academy consists of more than 100 players, all of them with professional desires. Vermes has called it the most important part of the franchise’s future and the model in which to sustain success season after season.
To date, Busio represents its most prized possession —at 18, he’s already a key contributor.
“He’s not just playing — he’s playing and influencing the game,” Bliss said. “You hope, as you play more, you get better and more confident. He’s done that. The value keeps trickling up.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Sporting KC teen Gianluca Busio is generating interest from these international clubs."