Bologna, Montreal Impact in partnership talks

Canadian businessman Joey Saputo is exploring a merger between his two ventures in football - Serie A's Bologna and Major League Soccer's Montreal Impact - in a move which would benefit both clubs.

The Rossoblu manager Roberto Donadoni revealed the news to Sportitalia, and sees the key plus of an agreement benefiting young Italian players struggling to break into senior consideration in their homeland.

It would be a similar positive seen in Manchester City's ability to send players on loan to New York City FC, such as Angelino and Shay Facey in 2015.

"There are clubs who want to do this kind of thing," Donadoni said, with translation from ESPN FC.

"Bologna are one of them, and our president is the owner of a club in Montreal and is looking for a merger between the clubs which would make the most of the capacities of the two cities.

"I think we need to go back in time a bit in terms of this. If we want players who have a bright future, we need to structure our youth systems in a certain way. This takes away time, space, and energy and we can see the results."

There have already been numerous connections between the Impact and Italian football since the franchise was inducted into MLS in 2012. Ex-Serie A players Marco Donadel and Ignacio Piatti are currently in Mauro Biello's roster, and Marco Di Vaio, formerly of Bologna, is the side's all-time top scorer.

Montreal edged into the playoffs on Sunday thanks to the Chicago Fire's 2-1 win over New England Revolution.