The final whistle arrived for the English transfer market and one of the “non-moves” made on the day was that for Steven Nzonzi, who remained at Sevilla. The French international was waiting and anticipating a potential return to England, however, this did not come to fruition. This came to the delight of Monchi, who so far played the best move of this chess match between Roma and Nzonzi’s entourage. The Frenchman’s father-agent has requested €4 million plus bonuses in wages from Roma, a figure deemed far too excessive for the 30 year old. Monchi, though, is now ready to relaunch for Nzonzi knowing full-well he will lower his wage demands in order to move away from the Spanish side and that England is no longer an option: the Giallorossi’s sporting director is expected to arrive in Andalusia in the coming hours and one of the objectives is to try and close to the distance for Nzonzi.
Should the former Stoke City man not lower his wage demands, Monchi is ready to try and close quickly for Salzburg midfielder Diadie Samassekou. As learned by RomaPress, contact between Roma and the agent of the Mali international, Jonathan Maarek, has remained consistent in recent days and the belief is that the Giallorossi can close the operation for Samassekou in an expedited manner should Monchi decide to abandon the path that leads to Nzonzi. There is only a week left in the market – Monchi will have to work quickly to try and finalise any operation, but the next 72 hours will be critical.
