Il Tempo (Austini): He has all the characteristics to become the “catchphrase” of the summer. He’s definitely a player that Roma likes, but they aren’t the only ones – Anderson Talisca is a valuable item on the transfer market and Monchi has taken a front row seat for him as he is ready to present an offer at the right moment. Last week, he thought that the operation was considered impossible due to the high costs, but now his plan leads to…Lisbon. Yes, because Monchi has decided to deal with Benfica, the owner’s of the Brazilian trequartista’s rights, and not with Besiktas, who brought him to Turkey on a two-year loan in 2016 and have an option to buy. The scenario regarding the operation has changed thanks to the difficulties of Besiktas in the league: the qualification of the Istanbul side for next season’s Champions League is hanging by a thread and with two match days until the end, if they fall short of their objective they would have serious difficulties exercising their option to buy on Talisca, which is set at a price of €22 million. One possible scenario could be that Roma “help” Besiktas to exercise the purchase option for Talisca then immediately agree on a price for his immediate transfer to the Giallorossi. In that case, Benfica would be left out of negotiations but Monchi considers this the incorrect move as this is far from his philosophy. Even Benfica have no certainty of playing in the Champions League next season. Meanwhile, Benfica are ready to recover ownership of Talisca’s rights and put him on sale. Difficult, if not impossible that Talisca remains in Lisbon. Among the many calls received by his agent, there were certainly more than a few coming from Monchi’s smartphone, Alisson is also believed to have delivered some information directly to Talisca during last March’s meeting of the Brazilian national team. Next Monday may be another key date: Brazilian manager Tite will announce the names of the 35 player selected to his preliminary squadd for the World Cup. Among those names will certainly be Alisson and it’s very likely Talisca will also be there. The laws of the transfer market say that the call-up to Brazil will automatically increase his price, even more-so if the players then ends up in the final squad.
With Ante Corić already blocked, Monchi also thinks about the defence. One highlighted goal on his list is Kaderabek, Hoffenheim’s right-back. His cost is about €10 million but first, however, it is necessary to sell Bruno Peres, then to loosen talks regarding the renewal of Florenzi and also better understand the prospects of Karsdorp after his long lay-off. Roma will also buy at least one central defender. Among the many, Monchi likes the young Croatian of Salzburg Caleta-Car.
In other news, this summer at Trigoria you will see Ricky Massara, who was recalled by Monchi to return to the sporting side of Roma as his deputy. Massara has ended his experience in China with Sabatini, who gave Massara a sort of “approval” for his return to Trigoria.
