Needing some reinforcements down the wings, AS Roma and their director of football Monchi decided to set out on an expedition to find young forwards filled with potential to help strengthen their squad.
One of the names they ended up acquiring despite strong competition from elsewhere, including England, was Justin Kluivert, son of former Barcelona and Newcastle forward Patrick.
According to certain outlets, one of the teams looking at the 19-year-old were Manchester United, largely based on José Mourinho’s alleged admiration for the Dutchman’s potential following an exchange on the pitch after the Red Devils beat Ajax in the 2017 Europa League final.
Playing just 20 minutes of competitive football for his new team so far, coming off the bench against Torino, Kluivert Jr. still managed to pick up an assist, setting up Edin Dzeko for the winning goal.
Following this successful cameo, Gazzetta dello Sport decided to have a chat with the player’s father about how everything was going in Rome for the youngster.
Among other things, they enquired about Manchester United’s alleged interest in his son, a move Patrick Kluivert seems pleased his progeny didn’t make.
He said: “I don’t know about that, but I think United would be a step too big. Roma is an important club, but the pressures are minor. They’re a club that doesn’t have to win and one used to good football. For Justin, it’s the ideal place at this moment”.
Was that a slight dig at José Mourinho there via the ‘good football’ comment? We’ll let you decide on that one.
