Whenever there is talk of Nicolò Zaniolo’s future at AS Roma, it’s always interesting to see who gets linked.
We say this because we all know how much the player means to the Serie A side, and the youngster has never hidden his affinity for the club and what they have done for him since his arrival in 2018.
Teams like Manchester United and Tottenham have been recurring names in transfer rumours involving the playmaker, but, bar the odd big story that never led to anything, there’s rarely been a feeling he could actually move.
That is until now, with Roma potentially missing out on Champions League football, which could lead to a serious need of finding extra money in the summer from sales.
Zaniolo remains one of their more valuable assets on a market prioritising younger and younger targets, and with desperate times come desperate measures.
That’s a considerable investment, meaning only a select few clubs could afford it this summer.
Juventus remain in the front row in Italy, while it’s stated foreign clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham ‘have been pressing for months’.
There’s no denying Zaniolo would fit Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s new look United at Old Trafford, but at that price, the Italian remains a gamble, especially after he is only just returning from a serious knee injury picked up in mid January.
Perhaps it would be wiser to spend that money elsewhere and see how the 20-year-old bounces back from his setback before rushing in with an open chequebook.
It’s also worth pointing out that Zaniolo ‘would not want to leave Roma’ this summer, but if his club are forced to sell, he might not have much of a choice.
