Undaunted by his €55 million price tag and his 2002 arrests for attempted rape, assault with bodily harm, and controlling and coercive behavior, Roma is forging ahead with their pursuit of Marseille winger Mason Greenwood. Despite the deal’s questionable moral and financial aspects, Gian Piero Gasperini and the Friedkin family have identified the 24-year-old winger/forward as their top priority this summer.
Still, as with any other high-profile transfer rumor, this story has traced the usual arc from
pure fiction to plausibility and back again. In between each swing of the pendulum have been the usual hiccups: exorbitant salary demands, higher transfer fees, new clubs entering the mix, etc. And while Roma has promised not to repeat last summer’s Jadon Sancho mistake, namely blindly chasing an unreachable transfer target while more realistic options fall by the wayside, Gasperini and the Giallorossi remain solely focused on Greenwood.
However, according to multiple sources, including the Corriere dello Sport, the club has cleared a significant hurdle in their Greenwood chase:
Earlier today, the Corriere reported that Roma and Greenwood have agreed to a deal that will pay the former United wonderkid a base salary of €4.5 million, with an additional €1.5 million in easily achievable bonuses. With Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala expected to sign new deals at drastically lower salaries, Roma was reportedly able to meet Greenwood’s demands. However, there remains the sizable task of striking a deal with Marseille, who, to date, haven’t budged on their €55 million valuation.
Whether you’re excited or appalled by the prospect of Roma signing Greenwood, allow me to reveal a harsh reality. Here’s a list of players Roma has agreed to personal terms with in the past: Jadon Sancho, Arkadiusz Milik, Malcolm, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Lukas Podolski, Adrian Mutu, Gianluigi Buffon and Antonio Di Natale—you get the picture. “Agreeing to personal terms” is just flowery language meant to get you excited.
The controversy surrounding this potential signing has overshadowed perhaps the most critical point: €55 million would exceed the club’s most expensive transfer (€42 million for Patrick Schick) by a whopping 30%. Champions League or not, this transfer feels like pure fantasy. And in the meantime, other viable options like Christian Pulisic, Kerim Alajbegović, and even Crysencio Summerville, who has Greenwood-like salary demands but should cost €15 to €20 million less.
There’s little doubt that Greenwood could help Roma on the pitch, but for so many reasons, this rumor remains implausible, not to mention ill-advised
