Sampdoria have reached a contract agreement with striking ace Antonio Cassano, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Cassano has been an inspirational figure for Sampdoria this term since arriving on loan from Real Madrid last summer.
While the former Roma hitman is due to return to the Bernabeu at the end of the campaign, he has made it clear that he would rather stay at Marassi.
Real are reportedly keen to cash in Cassano, who flopped in La Liga, but there had been fears that the Blucerchiati wouldn’t be able to match the 25-year-old’s wage demands.
However, La Gazzetta dello Sport insists that Cassano has agreed a contract tying him to the club until 2012, with an option for an additional year, at a rate of around £2m per season.
That salary would represent a wage cut of almost 50 per cent for the Bari native.
Samp sporting director Beppe Marotta must now come to an agreement with Real and the fee is expected to be around the £3m mark.
