Antonio Di Natale continues to be linked to the New York Cosmos

The New York Cosmos are again being linked to Udinese forward Antonio Di Natale, who confirmed in February that he would not remain with his current club once his contract expires in June. The Tutto Mercato report suggests that the Italian legend is torn between ending his career with Juventus, or making a move across the Atlantic to New York.

As Di Natale's contract is set to expire in June, the player is free to negotiate a deal with the Cosmos, or any club abroad. He's also the sort of aging superstar that fits the mold of recent targets, and we know that there's been interest in the striker recently. During a weekly conference call with head coach GIo Savarese about a month ago, the coach confirmed that the club has made contact with the player, even if it didn't lead to a deal:

"There was definitely a contact, definitely a discussion with the possibility to explore a discussion that could involve bringing him to the Cosmos. Nothing ever formalized in the end. There were some things we were thinking differently in some areas and at the end, it didn’t come to fruition."

It's unclear whether there's been any new contact with Di Natale since that February call, or if this is simply the Italian media recycling old stories during the lull of an international break, as the European press are known to do. The Cosmos have just one international roster spot remaining, and until the deal fell through about a week ago, had been working towards filling that spot with another striker, on loan, from a La Liga side.

Regardless, it's clear that the Cosmos would like to fill their final international spot with a striker from one of Europe's big leagues, as the past few months have seen confirmed links to all of Di Natale, Samuel Eto'o, Shola Ameobi, and the La Liga striker without a name. Until that spot is filled or Di Natale signs a deal elsewhere, I'd be hesitant to ignore anything written on the subject.