Nicolò Zaniolo is expected to spend a long spell on the sidelines after the AS Roma star suffered a serious injury in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Juventus.
Sky Italia claims Roma are forced to look for cover following Zaniolo’s injury and therefore, they have identified Inter Milan’s Matteo Politano as a target. Roma’s idea is to include Leonardo Spinazzola as part of the deal.
If a swap deal involving Politano and Spinazzola doesn’t take place, then Roma wouldn’t be ‘unprepared’ as they have identified Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaqiri as an alternative.
According to the report, the Serie A side have contacted the Reds about the Swiss international as Roma’s idea is to sign the winger on a loan deal.
Meanwhile, Tuttosport also have a report on Roma chasing for an attacking player following Zaniolo’s injury setback.
At the end of the report, there’s a short update about the Liverpool player. It’s claimed the Merseyside club have offered Paulo Fonseca’s side an opportunity to sign Shaqiri on loan and the Roma leaders are evaluating it.
The Tuttosport and Sky Italia reports on Shaqiri are contradicting as the former claims the attacker is offered to Roma, while the latter explains the Italian club have contacted Liverpool.
Either way, a move would be surprising in the winter market.
Shaqiri has been restricted to only six appearances in the Premier League this season, which includes only two starts. That’s partly down to injury, and it’s got to be considered unlikely the player would want to leave when title celebrations are within sight.