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Gregoire Defrel has left Roma to join Sassuolo on loan with an obligation to buy next summer.
The French striker failed to reach the required standard at Roma, scoring just once in 20 appearances before being loaned to Sampdoria for the entirety of last season. He has now completed a return to Sassuolo, from whom Roma signed him in 2017 on a five-year contract for €20m. Sassuolo have paid €3m up front for the loan, while they are obliged to pay €9m once he reaches certain targets. A further payment of at least €1m, but potentially up to €2m, will be made in add-ons.
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Robin Olsen has joined Cagliari on a season-long loan from Roma.
The Swedish goalkeeper was chosen by previous sporting director Monchi as the replacement for Alisson Becker last year, but Olsen proved to be of far inferior quality to his predecessor, and was eventually replaced by veteran Antonio Mirante by interim manager Claudio Ranieri towards the end of the season. Olsen had been close to a move to Montpellier, before the French club opted to sign Geronimo Rulli instead - sparking some controversial outbursts from Olsen's entourage. He moves to Cagliari to plug the gap for the injured Alessio Cragno - who, coincidentally, was one of the keepers most strongly linked with being Olsen's replacement at Roma, before Gianluca Petrachi signed Pau Lopez instead. In total, Olsen made 35 appearances in his sole season at Roma, conceding 58 goals and keeping just seven clean sheets. Roma to face Monchengladbach, Basaksehir and Wolfsberger in Europa League as group stage draw made30/8/2019 Roma will play Borussia Monchengladbach, Istanbul Basaksehir and Wolfsberger in the Europa League group stages after the draw was made today.
Roma take their place in Group J for the tournament, which will begin on 19th September - in between Serie A games against Sassuolo and Bologna. The remaining dates for the group stage games are 3rd and 24th October (in between Lecce and Cagliari, and Sampdoria and AC Milan respectively), 7th and 28th November (between Napoli and Parma, and Brescia and Verona) and 12th December (between Inter and SPAL). Borussia Monchengladbach came fifth in the Bundesliga last season, and in the summer signed Breel Embolo from Schalke, while selling Thorgan Hazard to Borussia Dortmund. Istanbul Basaksehir will represent a homecoming for Roma winger Cengiz Under, who signed from the Turkish club in 2017. They came second in the Super Lig last season, but lost their Champions League third qualifying round tie with Olympiacos Finally, Wolfsberger are competing in the group stages of a European competition for the first time after placing third in the Austrian Bundesliga last season. Roma were top seeds for the group thanks to their impressive UEFA coefficient, having qualified for the competition after finishing sixth in Serie A. Initially scheduled to begin competing in the second qualifying round, Roma took Milan's place in the group stage after they were expelled from the competition. With Torino, who took Roma's place in the qualifiers, knocked out by Wolves on Thursday, it means there will only be two Italian teams in the group stages - the other being Roma's great rivals and next league opponents Lazio, who qualified by virtue of winning the Coppa Italia, and will face Celtic, Rennes and Cluj. Roma are competing in the Europa League for the first time since 2017, when they dropped into the group stages after losing to Porto in a Champions League play-off. That season, Luciano Spalletti's side reached the Round of 16, losing to Lyon over two legs. This year's final will take place in Gdansk, Poland, on 27th May 2020. Roma have confirmed the signing of Chris Smalling on loan from Manchester United, making him the second English player in the club's history.
Smalling joins on a season-long loan with no written option to buy, although like with Davide Zappacosta, who joined on a similar deal from Chelsea, there may be the opportunity to negotiate at the end of the campaign if he has performed well. The 29-year-old becomes only the second English player to represent Roma in history, following Ashley Cole. Other players with British connections to have featured for the club are John Charles, the Welsh striker who spent a season in Rome in the 1960s, Simone Perrotta, who was born in Greater Manchester but played for Italy, Mark Tullio Strukelj, born in Surrey but an Italian national, and Emma Lipman, who played for the women's team last year. The rumours linking Smalling with Roma emerged on Thursday morning, with the deal quickly being accelerated to prevent the club from missing out before Monday's transfer deadline. Roma have paid €3m for the loan, and should they wish to negotiate for his permanent transfer at the end of the season, it is likely they would have to pay around €17m more. After completing a medical on Friday, Smalling, who will wear the number 6 shirt last used by Kevin Strootman, told Roma's official website: “This is the perfect opportunity for me. “The chance to experience a new league, with a big team that has got big aspirations is exactly what I needed. “Hopefully I can hit the ground running. I’m looking forward to joining up with my teammates.” Benvenuto, Chris!
Roma are expected to complete the shock signing of Chris Smalling from Manchester United within the coming hours.
Gianluca Petrachi has been searching for a new centre-back all summer, even after the arrival of Gianluca Mancini from Atalanta, with the season opener against Genoa proving that reinforcements are still needed at the back. Earlier in the summer, Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld had been the top target, but Roma were reluctant to pay his £25m release clause, which has since expired, meaning the focus shifted to Daniele Rugani from Juventus or Dejan Lovren from Liverpool. However, on Wednesday evening, Il Tempo journalist Alessandro Austini hinted that Roma were considering a third name, a 'Mister X' profile, which he has since revealed as Man Utd man Smalling.
The English centre-back, 29, has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford, where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now has five other defenders to choose from - Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo. Therefore, it is suggested that Smalling can leave on loan - with Corriere Dello Sport's Jacopo Aliprandi furthering the story by claiming that the 29-year-old can arrive in Rome today.
Sky Sport Italia's Gianluca Di Marzio reveals that Roma will pay €3m for the loan, but there is no option to buy. Smalling would become the first English player to represent Roma since Ashley Cole's ill-fated spell from 2014 until January 2016, and just the third Brit in history - with John Charles spending a season in Rome in the 1960s. In addition, last season, Emma Lipman became the first English player to represent Roma's women's team. Smalling has made more than 300 appearances for United since joining from Fulham in 2010, but has not featured for England since 2017, because Gareth Southgate does not deem him suitable for his style of play. However, it appears that Roma do consider him suitable for them, with Paulo Fonseca having targeted a fast, experienced defender capable of playing in a high line all summer.
Ante Coric has left Roma to join Spanish second division side Almeria on loan with an option to buy.
Coric, signed by Monchi last summer for €8m, was dubbed the new Luka Modric upon his arrival, but fell short of those expectations spectacularly, managing just three appearances in all competitions - none of which were starts. After playing no part in pre-season despite not being injured, it was clear that the 22-year-old's future lied away from Roma, with the formalities being completed today to finalise his move to Almeria - who have paid €400,000 up front. The Spaniards have the opportunity to purchase Coric outright for €6m next summer. Filippo Biafora of Il Tempo adds that the option to buy will become compulsory if Almeria gain promotion to La Liga, with Coric making a certain number of appearances.
Former Roma defender Medhi Benatia has revealed that Ricky Massara tried to take him back to the club in January, while he would answer the call if Gianluca Petrachi got in touch.
Benatia spent one successful season with Roma in 2013-14, joining from an Udinese side who had finished higher than the Giallorossi in the previous season. However, the Moroccan defender helped turn things around as part of a strong partnership with Leandro Castan at the back, seeing Roma rise back to a second-placed finish. He left at the end of that year in controversial circumstances, with president James Pallotta branding him a liar despite Benatia's claims he had wanted to stay, after signing for Bayern Munich. Five years on, Benatia, now plying his trade for Al-Duhail in Qatar, has suggested that Roma made contact to bring him back this year. "The last contact I had was with Ricky Massara, who asked me how I was doing in Qatar," he revealed to Tele Radio Stereo. "Roma will always remain a place where I always felt good. "When Ricky called me, I thought about it, then he went away and I stayed in Qatar, where I am fine. "In January he asked me if I could stay in Italy, for him my story with Roma hadn't finished. I gave my availability, but I didn't feel like staying for six months at Juventus, playing little. Then I looked around, in England and Qatar, and I chose the latter. Then Massara asked my availability for June, but then he went to Milan. When asked if he would respond if current sporting director Gianluca Petrachi called him, with Roma still in dire need of a new centre-back, he answered: "I always respond." Elsewhere in the interview, Benatia was quizzed about how close his international teammate, Hakim Ziyech, had been to Roma in 2018 - before Monchi chose to sign Javier Pastore instead. "It was before the World Cup," confirmed Benatia. "He talked to me about Roma, I told him to go to Roma, but the agreement didn't go through due to a question of money with Ajax, I believe. He knows how to make a difference, I am convinced that the Giallorossi should follow him." He also believes that former Juventus teammate Daniele Rugani could help Roma improve in defence, with talks with his entourage ongoing. "I know Rugani well, he is very young, he plays for Juventus and it is not easy to find space with champions like [Giorgio] Chiellini and [Leonardo] Bonucci in front of you. He is focused and attentive, as well as a great professional. I don't know if he will go to Roma, but if it is done, I am convinced that he will have a great career." Like the new Giallorossi Yorkshire Facebook page!
The transfer window closes next Monday, so here is the last episode of Mercato Monday this summer - looking at two areas of need that were highlighted after Roma's draw with Genoa.
Roma have confirmed that winger Diego Perotti will miss between 45 and 60 days with a quadriceps strain.
The Argentine player had been expected to play a key role this season, following the departure of Stephan El Shaarawy, but missed the season opener against Genoa through injury. Tests since then have revealed that Perotti has strained the left quadriceps muscle, near the thigh, and will consequently miss at least the first month-and-a-half of the season. It comes as a major blow for the 31-year-old, who only managed to make six league starts last season due to further injuries. Roma team manager Morgan De Sanctis has suggested that Roma could try to sign Davide Zappacosta permanently next summer, while clarifying why the full-back has only joined on an initial six-month loan.
Zappacosta joined Roma on Wednesday, with the Giallorossi having the option to extend his loan until the end of the season - although there is no mention of an official option to buy. Nonetheless, former goalkeeper De Sanctis has told reporters that Zappacosta is likely to stay at Roma beyond six months. “Zappacosta is on loan for six months, with an automatic renewal until June 2020 if exceptional conditions relating to Chelsea’s transfer ban don’t arrive,” De Sanctis said at an introductory press conference for the former Torino man and fellow new arrival Mert Cetin. “These conditions are a precaution on Chelsea’s part, since they cannot sign any new players. “He’s an important player and therefore we accepted these precautions which, however, aren’t particularly significant. “The player will stay here for a year and prove his worth. After that, considerations will be made in June 2020.” |
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