Il Tempo (Austini): To balance the books and respect Financial Fair Play, Roma are closing in on the sale of Mohammed Salah to Liverpool, but the Giallorossi are also considering selling another big name in their roster: Kostas Manolas, who Roberto Mancini wants to bring to Zenit St. Petersburg. After trying to tempt the Greek defender with a very rich contract offer – nearly €5 million net including bonuses – the Russians now want to try to convince Roma to sell the player and have got an appointment scheduled for Thursday in Germany with Monchi. Zenit directors will put an official proposal on the table and will also have an even more ambitious goal beyond Manolas: Mancini has also asked for Leandro Paredes.
Monchi, after returning from London with Di Francesco to meet with Pallotta, has decided to sit at the table and see Zenit’s cards. The Spaniard’s goal is to find an agreement only for Manolas and get at least €30-35 million from his transfer. The defender is far from renewing his contract, which expires in two years, and he does not have good relations with most of the dressing room – the spat with Dzeko while on national team duty was just the tip of the iceberg – and the operation, albeit technically painful, would give Roma the resources to buy a substitute of the same level while renewing Rüdiger and Nainggolan.
If Zenit were to be able to double the number on the table, totaling €60 million, then Paredes’s departure would also become a possible option as long as the Argentine accepts the destination, which Manolas already seems to have done. As mentioned, however, Monchi is not in a hurry at this time, the €45 million plus bonuses made by the sale of Salah will allow him to deal with the Russians without having to sell one of the jewels of Roma.
