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Forza Roma Sempre!

Roma is trying to lighten the wage bill; the club has many players on the transfer list. Let's break down who is being linked to other clubs and discuss the likelihood of each transfer.

1. Artem Dovbyk. Both his agent and Gasperini himself say the player is only thinking about Roma, but rumors persistently link him to the Premier League. Leeds' interest has faded, but now there's swirling speculation about a move to Everton for €42 million.

I understand where these rumors come from: the Friedkins also own Everton, and such a fee would bring a significant profit to Roma, covering the considerable expenses of this transfer window. To me, this story is reminiscent of the talk that Everton would buy Wesley instead of us and immediately loan him to us. Theoretically, such a deal is possible, but it could attract UEFA's attention, and the Friedkins won't take that risk. For a year now, we've been debating who will be whose feeder club, but so far, the joint ownership of Roma and Everton has been limited to friendly matches.

2. Marash Kumbulla. This guy is the first in line for the exit. The probability that Marash will stay is negligibly small; he failed to impress Gasperini and didn't even get a chance in the final preseason matches. The main problem is actually selling him. Marash was given a hefty salary back in the day: Roma spends €3.3 million a year on him, and no one wants to buy him outright. Therefore, a loan is the most likely scenario. The main contenders are Espanyol, Sevilla, and a few other bottom-half La Liga teams. I saw some news about him wanting to go only to RCD Mallorca.

3. Mario Hermoso. The club wants to sell him, but the situation here is even worse than with Kumbulla. Valencia and Real Sociedad made inquiries for Hermoso, but then paused their interest. The problem, as always, is the salary: the club spends €6.5 million on Hermoso, and Mario has no desire to take a pay cut. His current salary is higher than the leaders at both Sociedad and Valencia, which might start a rebellion inside the club if they buy Hermoso. The remaining option is one of Istanbul's big three, who have shown interest in him. But whether the Turkish clubs will follow through, and more importantly, whether Mario himself would go to the Queen of Cities, is a huge question.

4. Tommaso Baldanzi. Tommaso surprisingly played a lot in the preseason matches but left a mixed impression. It's one thing to look lively against amateur league fodder, but he didn't shine against Lens or Aston Villa, and he didn't get a chance against Everton. We must understand that Baldanzi's time on the pitch is on credit right now. Gasperini wants another attacker, and Dybala and Pellegrini are expected to return from injury. This could permanently nail Tommaso to the bench, making his sale likely. Unlike with Kumbulla and Hermoso, selling Baldanzi probably won't be a difficult quest. But for now, there are no concrete negotiations; perhaps his future will be decided by the first few rounds of Serie A and any incoming transfers.

5. Anass Salah-Eddine. He barely played in the preseason and clearly didn't impress Gasperini. However, I'm not convinced Salah-Eddine will leave Roma. His salary is very low (less than €1 million per year), and we paid €10 million for him, including bonuses, just six months ago. A loan makes little sense, and selling him without a loss is difficult. Therefore, he has a good chance of spending this season on the bench. The only argument for selling him is that Gasperini doesn't rate him at all, and he is our only option at left wing-back if something happens to Angeliño. But finding a replacement will be very challenging.

6. Evan Ndicka. Yes, this one is unexpected. But Ndicka could still move to Saudi Arabia. Al-Ahli is interested in the player and might offer €40 million for him. Selling a starting center-back in mid-August is a dangerous move, although €40 million in pure capital gains would solve all our financial balancing issues. I don't rule out the possibility of this transfer, but for now, it seems unlikely. It goes without saying, but I would prefer him to stay.

7. Lorenzo Pellegrini. Lorenzo still hasn't been able to rejoin team training due to his injury. He will start the season without a proper preseason, which further reduces his chances of succeeding under Gasperini. I won't speculate on the captain's armband situation, but his injury, specific style of play, and high salary all hint at a departure. The only question is who would take him. In a year, he can be signed as a free agent, and right now, he's a player with no preseason and the second or third-highest salary at Roma. Hence, the rumors about England, but even there, the interest is quite moderate.

And since this news just broke, I'll comment on it, too. Gianluca Di Marzio was the first to report that Manu Kone could become Inter's priority target if negotiations for Ademola Lookman fail.

I don't believe this at all. Kone is a top-tier talent with enormous potential, and he will attract interest, but I don't see how he becomes a priority for Inter, who were looking to strengthen their attack (and were thinking of signing Lookman). Inter has an incredibly strong midfield: Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan. And their reserves are impressive too: Zielinski and Frattesi are quality players capable of stepping in.

I see no reason for this transfer for either Kone or Inter. Inter needs an attacker, not another Barella. Manu needs to be a non-stop starter to develop into one of the best midfielders in the world (I'm convinced he's capable of it!), not sit on the bench. For a while, I was treating this as a baseless rumor from Di Marzio, because he was the one who sent Casemiro to Roma in the past.

But then we heard from Biafora that Roma is ready to sell Manu Kone if the offer is right. And it doesn’t make sense to me.

Apparently, yesterday was a day for crazy news. Fabrizio Romano reported that Roma has made an official offer of €23 million for Jadon Sancho: a loan with an obligation to buy. There's no information on the salary yet, but my Juventus-supporting friends tell me that their offer to Sancho started at €5 million net, and it wasn't enough. The latest alleged offer was €6 million net.

Let me explain: with Italy's tax laws, a €6 million net salary translates to €11.1 million gross that the club would have to spend. This would immediately make him the second-highest paid player at Roma, by a large margin, after Dybala. Paulo costs just under €15 million with bonuses, while Mancini and Pellegrini earn €7.5 million gross. Everyone else makes less.

Sancho is a good player. Yes, he has a difficult personality, but overall, I would be happy with his transfer if we got him on the "Lukaku formula": at the end of the transfer window and with Manchester United paying part of his salary. But if we are planning to buy him outright and spend €11 million a year on his wages – that scares me. In June, we were haggling over every penny with the excellent Svilar. Where is all this generosity coming from now?

I wish I could say things became clearer by tonight, but some parts are still completely incomprehensible. Or maybe nothing has been decided yet. But let's discuss what we have. Here's what we know for sure about the Manu Kone transfer at this moment:

For now, I DO NOT have the feeling that we are 100% selling Manu Kone. And there are several reasons for this. A part of my post from earlier today is still relevant: neither Inter nor Kone are in desperate need of each other. Meanwhile, Inter is genuinely dreaming of signing Ademola Lookman. The amount the Nerazzurri are offering for Kone is exactly the same as they were willing to pay for Lookman. Could this be a performance for Atalanta's benefit, a way of saying, "the clock is ticking, our target is moving on," creating the risk for them of being stuck with a player sabotaging training for another year? I can't rule it out.

Manu Kone is a key player for Roma, and Gasperini understands this. Kone cannot be anything other than a key player; in my opinion, he is currently the most important outfield player at Roma. But I also understand another fact: Roma is obviously seriously considering the offer for Kone. All sources say the club is thinking it over, you don't do that when a player is not for sale. I suspect that at a recent meeting, the Friedkins gave Gasperini a choice: either keep Kone or get new attacking players. Judging by our actions, the coach chose the latter. I find it unrealistic that the club would try to fulfill all the coach's wishes until mid-August and then suddenly undermine him by selling a star player. More likely, Gasperini found himself in an unpleasant situation and chose what he considered the lesser of two evils.

And there's nothing surprising about us being in this situation. I wrote back in June that while Massara isn't the worst sporting director, player sales are not his strong suit. By mid-August, we have barely made any sales: Shomurodov, Paredes, and Solbakken combined didn't bring in even €10 million in net profit. Tammy Abraham, considering his remaining amortization, was also sold for a modest fee. It's practically impossible to sell Kumbulla, Hermoso, Salah-Eddine, and other deadwood. And the players who were likely intended to pay for our July spending spree (Dovbyk/Pellegrini/Ndicka) are not attracting buyers right now. That's why Roma is considering selling a key player: they have to raise funds somewhere to avoid sanctions, so they are forced to sell what people are willing to buy.

Let me repeat – I am not claiming that Kone will be sold (or that he will be sold specifically to Inter). But Roma's behavior shows: we've made a mess of things. In any normal situation, an offer for Roma's star player from a league rival in the middle of August should receive an instant "No." But the club, unfortunately, is in anything but a normal situation. So now, all we can do is hope that Inter doesn't really need Kone that badly and that Lookman is still more desirable to them.

And yes, there will be sales. Let's just hope we manage to do so with minimal bloodshed, without giving away our Aquilifero (the eagle standardbearer of a legion).

Today, August 15, in the Manu Kone affair, the fog of war negotiations still lingers, but there is still no official offer from Inter. Sources in Bergamo report that Inter will make one last attempt to sign Lookman, but if Atalanta digs in their heels, the Nerazzurri will move on to other targets. It's likely that an offer for Kone truly depends on Atalanta's position; I find it hard to believe that Inter has the funds to acquire both players. A decision must be made in the coming days, as the Serie A season kicks off in a week.

Meanwhile, Roma is not stopping its own acquisitions. According to numerous reports, we are in the final stages of transfers for both Jadon Sancho and Leon Bailey. We plan to take Sancho on loan with an obligation to buy for €23 million. The player is open to a move to Roma, but for now, the club and the player have not reached an agreement on his salary. And the salary issues are well-known: Jadon earns an obscene amount at Manchester United, and he already turned down options with Chelsea and Juventus due to his unwillingness to take a pay cut.

The situation with Leon Bailey is simpler: we want to take him on loan with an option to buy. Aston Villa isn't against it, but they want us to, first, cover Bailey's entire salary, and second, pay a significant loan fee. The salary is also complicated here: at Aston Villa, Bailey earns nearly €4 million net per year. If we were to match that salary, the gross cost to the club would be €7.4 million annually, putting him on par with Mancini and Pellegrini.

What surprises me most is that we are continuing our incoming transfer activity. Even if we assume that the Friedkins have already decided to sell Kone, can we be so sure that Inter won't eventually land Lookman and just wave goodbye to us? You cannot sell Kone in the middle of August, I've said it before and I'll say it again, but that doesn't solve the problem of needing to find money. And the closer we get to the end of the transfer window, the more dangerous the situation will become, and the more brazen the buyers will be.

I thought it was dangerous to go on a full shopping spree before making any sales back in July. It was even more dangerous to leave a glaring hole in the attack on the left wing, a problem that was being discussed back in late May. But what we are doing now frankly scares me. I really hope the Friedkins have an ace up their sleeve.