Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart is eyeing a switch to Serie A next summer, saying he believes Italy is a good destination for older footballers.
Club captain Van der Vaart, 31, is in the final year of his contract at Hamburg, but injury problems and the signing of Lewis Holtby have made it difficult for the former Spurs player to break into the starting lineup.
He was on the bench throughout Hamburg's 1-0 win at Dortmund a fortnight ago, and it remains unclear whether new HSV coach Joe Zinnbauer will grant him a chance in the forthcoming Bundesliga match against Hoffenheim.
"Rafael has a brutal quality in attack," Zinnbauer told reporters on Thursday. "He's dangerous in front of goal, and you should not underestimate his set pieces. But we also know that he's been injured for a long time."
But even should Van der Vaart win a start against Hoffenheim, it has become more and more unlikely that the midfielder will stay at Hamburg beyond next summer with the Bundesliga side hoping to lower their salary bill next season, especially after making Holtby's loan deal from Tottenham permanent.
"I want to play in Italy one day," Van der Vaart told Dutch sports mag Nu Sport.
"You can be a bit older there as a footballer. [Francesco] Totti, [Andrea] Pirlo, [Gianluigi] Buffon are good examples. A new challenge is always nice."