Towards the end of the January transfer window, there was a bit of a surprise when AFC Bournemouth decided to make a move for Nicolo Zaniolo.
It was well known at that stage that the Italian wanted out of AS Roma, and while he was hoping for clubs like Tottenham to come forward, it was the Cherries who presented themselves with the right offer.
The Serie A side accepted it, but the player wasn’t overly keen and initially rejected the move to Bournemouth, only for him to make a U-turn a few days later.
The Premier League side had since moved on, however, and gave their money to Sassuolo for Hamed Junior Traoré instead.
While Roma were furious with the way the player had treated Bournemouth, some completely understand his decision to initially turn down the move, with Walter Sabatini one of them.
The former Serie A director of football told Radio Marte, relayed by Roma Giallorossa: “Between him and Roma, there has always been a latent conflict that has never been resolved. All the angry fans are on the boy now, but he’s not guilty of anything in particular.
“If he doesn’t want to go to Bournemouth, that’s understandable. It’s not like it was Liverpool that made the offer.”
