With the addition of Santiago Castro, Roma will give Gian Piero Gasperini another exciting weapon for his stable of forwards and give the Italian manager a viable alternative to Donyell Malen at striker. However, throughout the summer, the most prominent position in the Roma rumor mill has been a left winger. And the addition of Castro will do little to lessen the desire of Gasperini to see Tony D’Amico fill the void on the wing.
We’ve covered, ad nauseam, the list of names linked with the Giallorossi,
with many already heading in other directions and others priced prohibitively. One of those players is Antonio Nusa of RB Leipzig. Just a few days ago, it looked like Nusa was nothing more than a pipe dream with a price tag in excess of €50 million and seemingly little desire to head to Roma from the Bundesliga.
However, the latest reports from Alfredo Pedullà state that Nusa has now given Roma the go-ahead on a move to the capital. And he excludes any concerns about the player’s physical condition, despite some grumblings. It’s an important first step in Roma’s pursuit of a high-end talent in the wide areas. That being said, it is only the first step, and there’s still plenty of work to be done to actually land Nusa.
Leipzig now holds the cards with their reported minimum valuation of €55+ million. It’s a hefty fee, but one the Giallorossi were just about at for Summerville before his last-minute change of heart. However, that was also before D’Amico dropped €35 million on Castro, so we’ll see just how much the Friedkins are willing to drop to reinforce the attack.
Also working against Roma’s negotiating leverage could be the impending sale of Yan Diomandé from Leipzig to Real Madrid for around €100 million. That hefty sum reduces Leipzig’s financial need to sell Nusa. We’ll see if Roma can make any inroads with Leipzig in the coming days, but landing Nusa alongside Castro for almost €100 million would be a clear signal of intent from the Friedkin Group.
