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Luca Pellegrini has left Roma to join Cagliari on loan until the end of the season - a move which signifies the Giallorossi's only piece of first team business in the January transfer window.
The 19-year-old left-back made his senior debut for the club in September 2018, in a 4-0 win over Frosinone. Since then, the academy graduate has added three more league appearances, plus two in the Champions League. Pellegrini made one assist across his six appearances this season - for Aleksandar Kolarov's goal in the Frosinone victory - but was sent off in the Champions League clash with Viktoria Plzen in December, his most recent outing for the club. The youngster, who was born in Rome and is represented by agent Mino Raiola, will now spend the remainder of the season with Sardinian club Cagliari, who are currently 14th in the Serie A table. The Italy U21 international told Sky Sport Italia: “It’s all done, I am very happy to be a Cagliari player and can’t wait to start this new adventure. "I am here with the best intentions and tomorrow morning hope to be training with my new teammates. "I already spoke to coach Rolando Maran, but we just introduced ourselves, nothing more than that." Good luck, Luca.
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Eusebio Di Francesco has one game left to save his job as Roma head coach, according to various reports.
Di Francesco has come in for heavy criticism in the wake of Roma's shocking 7-1 loss to Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday night. With points also being dropped against the likes of Chievo, Bologna and SPAL earlier in the season, the pressure on the former Giallorossi midfielder has been mounting, and many expected the Coppa humiliation to be the final nail in the coffin. However, in the immediate aftermath of the game, Monchi moved to calm such speculation, claiming it was not the right time for punishments and that the group need to stay united to come out of this tough period. Moreover, Di Francesco ruled out resignation. "Any comment I make now would be superfluous," the former Sassuolo coach said. "We cannot afford to be embarrassed like that and behave that way during a game. It was a terrible performance in every area. "I want to make my evaluations with a cool head, not in the heat of the moment, because to be honest my mood right now is not the best. "I will reflect on the situation and I am sure the club will too. Tonight’s match confirmed some issues that had been only hinted at during the campaign. "However, I can rule out a resignation. That has never been a thought in my mind." Hence, despite the embarrassing defeat, it appears Di Francesco's job is safe - for now. Sky Sport Italia and Calciomercato are among those claiming that Di Francesco is likely to lead the team for the Serie A clash with AC Milan - who knocked Napoli out of the Coppa on Tuesday thanks to a brace from new signing Krzysztof Piatek - at the weekend, in a game which could finally seal his fate. The report indicates Di Francesco will almost certainly be sacked if Roma lose to the Rossoneri, with president James Pallotta prepared to veto Monchi's attempts to keep EDF in the role. Paulo Sousa has been identified as the most likely replacement.
Roma are ready to offer an improved contract to attacking midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo, according to reports.
Zaniolo was virtually unknown in the summer when he arrived as part of the deal that took Radja Nainggolan to Inter, but he has since impressed fans with his performances, scoring his first Serie A goal and earning a call-up to the senior Italy national team. According to Calciomercato, Monchi is ready to reward Zaniolo with a new contract, that will see him tied down to the club until 2024. The 19-year-0ld is believed to be in the process of changing agents, and one of the first things to be negotiated will be the new contract. The report indicates that Zaniolo's wages will be doubled as part of the agreement. However, the contract will include a new release clause of €50m, with several top European clubs taking note of his development. The news comes as Monchi highlighted the player's progress as part of an extensive interview in today's edition of La Gazzetta Dello Sport. Asked about renewals for K0stas Manolas, Stephan El Shaarawy, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Cengiz Under, the sporting director said: "They are all different situations. Some will be evaluated at the end of the market, others at the end of the season. And there is Zaniolo that, given the performance, maybe he will be the first renewal that we will face. "I didn't expect it [for Zaniolo to do so well at this stage]. The credit for this growth is from the coach, who has been good and believed in him. Inter didn't want to include him in the deal for Nainggolan. [Inter director Piero] Ausilio had built a wall, but they wanted Radja and in the end they sold. I thought that Nicolo would be one of the prospects, but more for the long-term. In the beginning we wanted to send him on loan in Serie A given the many midfielders in the squad, but once Strootman was sold we understood that it was the perfect moment to keep him. Zaniolo is amazing everyone and I know that at this footballing level at the moment Italy needs heroes to rebuild faith, but with Nicolo we must be calmer, for his own good. He is just 19."
Monchi then made a vow that Zaniolo will stay at Roma for years to come.
"We have sold important players in order to balance the books because a model club must respect the rules. Then we all know that in Italy and abroad, there are clubs that pretend or take different paths. But today, our idea is to build a great team, so I say that Zaniolo is the future of Roma and will not be sold. He will have a long and important path in this club. He is like a building that we are building slowly, but if we do not do so well enough, then he could collapse at any second. I have seen so many talents that have been wasted." Zaniolo has made a total of 15 appearances for Roma so far. |
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