What was meant to be a move that helped him rekindle his career after a tepid Chelsea spell quickly became a nightmare for Davide Zappacosta.
The defender has only played 12 minutes for Roma, where he is on loan until the end of the season, due to two injuries, first a muscular one and then a ruptured knee ligament, that have kept him sidelined throughout the campaign.
He’s expected to return in a month or so, which is good news for both him and Roma, and there’s still a chance he could get an exit from Chelsea out of it.
Corriere dello Sport explain the defender ‘would be very happy to extend the roman stay’, mostly to ‘repay the debt’ he owes towards the Serie A club, who believed in him during ‘the worst moment of his career’.
His agent, Alessandro Lucci, ‘will try once again’ to negotiate something with Chelsea in order to find a solution that suits everyone.
Il Messaggero’s information, however, is much bleaker, as they explain the defender will ‘return’ to his club at the end of the season.
The 27-year-old has two years left on his contract at Stamford Bridge, but with Frank Lampard primarily using César Azipilcueta at right-back and giving Reece James a chance to break through, there is little space for Zappacosta in London these days.