Originally looking like a promising move, Cengiz Ünder to Leicester City has ended up being nothing more than a mildly damp squib.
Appearing just eight times in the league so far this season, the 23-year-old has struggled to feature regularly under Brendan Rodgers, who has kept him on the bench for the past two games against Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
This, while not that big of a deal for Leicester, is an issue for AS Roma, who were hoping to get a big chunk of money from the deal down the line.
The deal taking Ünder to the King Power Stadium includes an option to buy, which is set to be made automatically compulsory after a still unknown number of appearances.
That could be one of the reasons behind this lack of minutes, and Forza Roma in Italy describe both the Turkey international and Justin Kluivert at RB Leipzig as ‘mysterious objects’.
Their sales would bring in ‘fresh money vital for the budget, but both of their situations suggest that’s not going to happen.
The pair are ‘continuing in the wake of the last disappointing season’, and the €23m Ünder could bring in are currently ‘a mirage’, with ‘no reason to think the situation will change in the summer’.
A problem Roma were hoping they were done with, but it seems the Turkish winger will simply return to Italy come the end of the season, giving them an extra headache to deal with in the upcoming transfer window.
