Il Tempo (Austini): Thursday, August 9th, the date that holds the world transfer market in suspense, Roma included. That day will be the last in which English clubs can buy players. And since there are clubs with the highest spending power at stake, all the others are forced to wait. And hope. In this specific case, we will understand on Thursday if the future of Nzonzi will be back in England, where his former partner and son currently live and where he played three seasons at Blackburn and as many at Stoke City. Now we wait for Arsenal as well as Everton, to see if either side makes a move for the World Cup champion.
And Roma? They watch and wait. Because after having probed “his” Sevilla on the possibility of bringing Nzonzi to Trigoria, Monchi was literally taken aback by the wage request made by the mediano: a salary of €4.2 million net plus bonuses, nearing €5 million. At that point, the sporting director got offended and started to study other options, finding in the meantime a plan B that satisfies him: Samassekou of Salzburg. He is a different player in all aspects from Nzonzi, but in several respects, he makes the case he’s worthy of Roma. He can be bought for just over €10 million as his contract is expiring next June, agreeing on his wages is the least of the problems, but still, things will stay “frozen” for a few days. In fact, Monchi still hopes to receive a signal from Nzonzi that shows his openness. He knows that phone call will eventually arrive after Thursday evening because if Arsenal or Everton really want to buy him, they will do so.
Meanwhile, tomorrow the Frenchman will have to arrive at Seville for medical visits and his first training sessions, as yesterday the sporting director of the Andalusian club, Caparros, reminded: “We’ll wait for him at 9am, then he’ll start working with his teammates, there’s no other news”. But, soon offers will arrive because Nzonzi is 30 years old and has decided to change teams and sign the last big contract of his career; Sevilla are fine with this as long as someone pays at least €25 million. There’s also been rumors that the guy is difficult to manage from a character standpoint, but on this, Monchi has already reassured Roma: “If he comes, I’ll take care of him”.
Thursday will be the last chance for many deals, including selling Gonalons to a Premier League side. After Everton and Crystal Palace, the Frenchman refused West Ham’s proposal. There is no way to convince him, but now, other markets will be tested in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. A new mediano seems to be the only real goal of Roma. Monchi was surprised, for example, by the statements of Bailey of Bayer Leverkusen, who talks about a negotiation with the Giallorossi, which never took off. At the moment in attack, things remain as such. With Perotti, El Shaarawy and everyone else. But the market is fluid, as you know.
