The holidays are in full swing and while Serie A may be on hold for a few days, transfer rumors continue unabated. Despite the addition of a number of new names, Italian media continue to focus on Roma’s pursuit of Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee and Atletico Madrid midfielder Giacomo Raspadori.
While Zirkzee and Raspadori had different characteristics, their career trajectories were similar, with them converting success in Italy into multi-million dollar moves to bigger European clubs. However, their combined league playing time was just 586 minutes, and life outside of Italy was not kind to these former Serie A standouts.
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Luckily for these two talented attackers, there may be hope in the form of cantankerous football geniuses. Gian Piero Gasperini has identified Zirkzee and Raspadori as the ideal saviors for his injured attack, according to multiple sources in Italy.
The latest reports from Italy indicate that Roma will acquire two players on loan with options to buy (Zirkese for €40 million and Raspadori for €18 million), which will become obligations if certain targets are achieved, including the club qualifying for next season’s Champions League. This represents a significant investment for the club and may require the cancellation of corresponding sales or loans for players such as Evan Ferguson, Leon Bailey and Artem Dovbeek.
This is all speculation, of course, but the depth and breadth of these rumors suggests Roma and Gasperini have clearly set their priorities in the January transfer market. All that’s left is to push the deal to the finish line, which isn’t an easy task with so much activity.
