Alberto Gilardino has found himself a new club by joining Spezia Calcio, the Italian Serie B club announced on their website on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old forward, who won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, had been linked with a move to Crystal Palace, among other clubs, since being released by Pescara in the summer.
Napoli had also been reported to be interested when Arkadiusz Milik tore his knee ligaments last month, but Gilardino has instead agreed to join the Italian second division outfit.
"I'm delighted to be here -- hello to all Spezia fans," Gilardino said in a tweet announcing his arrival.
Il saluto del neo aquilotto #AlbertoGilardino 🎻 ai tifosi aquilotti@acspezia #PerchèSpeziaèQuesta #aDifesaDiUnaFede #SpeziaCalcio pic.twitter.com/40QyjGw8bF
— Spezia Calcio (@acspezia) October 3, 2017
Gilardino made 14 appearances for Empoli in the first half of last season and went on to make a further three for Pescara, although he was unable to score for either, remaining on 188 Serie A goals.
Spezia are currently 11th in Serie B with three wins, one draw and three defeats from their first seven games of the season.
