The International Law of Transfer Rumors states that when Player X is linked to Club Y, all media outlets have at least 10 days to publish a story suggesting that A) Player X no longer wants or desires
to leave his club or B) Club Y is now interested in Player Z.
We’ve seen this cycle play out many times over the years, with everyone from Edin Dzeko to Malcom to Granit Xhaka taking center stage. This phenomenon reached its Romaverse peak last summer with Jadon Sancho, as transfer winds changed seemingly every day.
And as we approach the January transfer window, it seems like we’re being suckered into this same loop with Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee. One minute, he’s linked with Gasperini and the Giallorossi, with every outlet under the sun praising this ideal pairing of manager and player. Then, at the dawn of a new day, the player supposedly begins to waffle, viewing his current club through rose-tinted lenses.
When this cycle inevitably loses its novelty, we simply substitute a new name into the mix. In this case, the Italian press is linking Giacomo Raspadori to a return to Serie A. Raspadori, 25, left Napoli last summer for a €22 million transfer to Atletico Madrid and has struggled to settle in Spain. According to the latest whispers, Roma and Lazio are ready to compete for Raspadori’s signature this winter.
Raspadori could certainly thrive under Gasperini, who tried to lure him to Atalanta in 2024, so please don’t mistake my skepticism about transfer rumors for disapproval. After reporting on transfer rumors for nearly 15 years, you begin to see them for what they truly are: pure, unsubstantiated speculation.
Still, Raspadori or Zirkzee would be ideal additions for Roma this winter.
