Report: Antonio Di Natale is basically talking to himself about this move to "New York"

Reporting for the New York Post, Brian Lewis has effectively killed the rumor linking Antonio Di Natale to a "New York" club by confirming with each and every one of the city's three teams that there has been zero contact with one of the most consistent Serie A goalscorers of the last decade.

The New York Red Bulls? "Nothing to that rumor."

NYC FC? "Not been contacted by us."

New York Cosmos? "We have not had any discussions with Di Natale."

This is unfortunate timing because Di Natale has officially confirmed he is leaving current club Udinese when his contract expires in the summer of 2015. And La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting it is his intention to head Stateside.

The Italian outlet also mentions RBNY and the Cosmos as suitors for Di Natale's services; Sky Sports goes so far as to suggest it was the green team behind the recently reported big-money deal a "New York" club was said to have profferred.

In Lewis's report, the Cosmos did say they would be interested if "a player of his caliber were to leave Udinese". So now they have the news Di Natale is indeed leaving Udinese, maybe they have picked up a phone.

Of course, the biggest challenge to whichever New York team may or may not want to bolster its ranks with a 37-year-old Italian goalscoring legend is Udinese itself. Di Natale has publicly declared his intention to leave the club before - as recently as January 2014, when he said he would retire at the end of the season. He subsequently unretired, crediting his family, the team's fans, and - perhaps most pertinently - Udinese's owner, Gianpaolo Pozzo, for persuading him to change his mind.

Udinese sporting director, Cristiano Giaretta, has stated Pozzo and Di Natale's agent have been talking. All this chatter about moving to New York might be more about affecting that conversation than any serious effort to find a new home for the player this summer.