After reports that Middlesbrough were determined to hold onto Marten De Roon by increasing their demands from €13m to €20m, it appears the Championship club have finally caved in to the pressure and are allowing the Dutchman to rejoin his former club Atalanta.
This is the consensus on Wednesday in Italy, with multiple reports, including Gazzetta dello Sport, reporting the Serie A side had returned to the fray for the 27-year-old, and were confident to getting a deal done.
In their Wednesday edition, the Italian newspaper claimed that after a ‘long pursuit’, Atalanta were ‘one step away’ from getting their man for a fee of around €13m + bonuses, which is labelled as an ‘important investment’ for a club of their stature, showing their desire to do well in the Europa League this year.
A bit later in the day, and it seems like we have had progress, with TuttoMercatoWeb corroborating Gazzetta’s information, adding a bit of detail along the way.
According to the Italian website, the fee is of €13m + €2m in bonuses, a bid that has now been accepted by Middlesbrough, with the last details finalised on Wednesday morning.
Furthermore, the defensive midfielder is expected on Friday in Bergamo to undergo his medical ahead of the transfer being finalised by the Serie A outfit.
We’ll have to wait to find out whether or not De Roon had anything to do with Boro accepting the bid, but if it was solely due to a desire to play in Europe this season if possible, the desire is somewhat understandable.
