AS Roma are ‘not yet sure’ if they will pay the €5m required to sign Diego Llorente from Leeds United this summer, with his situation having changed since Jose Mourinho departed.
That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who say the Italian side are yet to make a decision about the loanee.
They explain that while the €5m fee set in his loan deal is not a gigantic sum by any means and Roma could easily decide to invest it in the defender, they are not yet sure they should do so.
Llorente had been a regular under Mourinho but has been in and out of the side under Daniele de Rossi, with a head injury picked up against Torino in February also not helping matters.
Had the Portuguese remained in charge then it seems the Leeds United loanee would have been almost guaranteed a permanent move from Elland Road but that’s no longer the case.
It’s something of a farcical situation for Leeds, who seem to be facing this scenario with several players they shipped out on loan last summer.
They all wanted out after relegation and were given exits thanks to loan clauses in their contracts but none of the clubs who took them seem willing to pay the money agreed for permanent deals and Roma can now be added to that.
Perhaps this is just the start of Roma looking for a discount, which absolutely wouldn’t be a surprise either.
