Back in December, Calciomercato covered AS Roma’s interest in Everton striker Beto.
There was the possibility of a swap deal involving Artem Dovbyk, who is seen as a sellable entity by the Italian club. The Ukraine striker had also been linked with West Ham.
Initial contact was made with the Toffees, with the clubs sharing the mutual Friedkin ownership. A move was expected to be complicated and it’s no great surprise that it’s now slipped away.
Il Messaggero report on Dovbyk’s future, and largely rule out a move to Everton.
The 28-year-old was offered to a host of clubs in recent weeks, with some tentative interest. However, he then picked up an injury in Roma’s Europa League clash against Panathinaikos. As a result, negotiations over an exit are now ‘virtually impossible’.
Everton and West Ham have moved on
It is believed that West Ham had also tried to sign him not so long ago. They have now taken Taty Castellanos from Lazio and a move for Dovbyk is out of the question. The newspaper explain the idea of a swap deal with Everton involving Beto has also ‘fallen through’.
Ideally, Roma would have liked to get rid of the Ukraine international. They were hopeful of earning €25m including bonuses from his exit and wanted to reinvest that money to sign other forwards.
Manchester United Joshua Zirkzee had been chief among their options. Even that opportunity has now been somewhat diluted, with the manager-less Red Devils putting business on hold for now.
Artem Dovbyk turns 29-years-of-age in June and is past his peak value. Roma’s chances of getting a good transfer fee for the player are reducing as the months go by, and even in the summer they’re likely to face a battle to get what they want.
An outside hope for Roma is Ukraine qualifying for the World Cup via March’s playoffs and Dovbyk shining at the competition.
