Rennes acquired seven players in the recent 2021/22 transfer window, leaning on club owner François Pinault’s financial prowess. One of those was French defensive midfielder Baptiste Santamaria, 26, from SC Freiburg.
The French midfield talisman is on the radar of Giallorossi sporting director Tiago Pinto, as reported by Rome-based Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica (via Voce Giallorossa). Santamaria is seen as an alternative for highly-rated 22-year-old central midfielder Boubakar Kamara, who is highly-sought after by many other top European teams such as Juventus, Manchester United and Milan.
Roma too, have been on Kamara’s trail for sometime now, but negotiations for him are said to be very ‘complicated’.
Roma, un nuovo obiettivo per il centrocampo: è Santamaria del Rennes https://t.co/1I4bQF4Pni
— informazione scienza (@infoitscienza) January 23, 2022
Santamaria only just arrived from German club Freiburg, where he lasted just one season – not hitting the heights that was expected of him. However, this season has been a different story. He has made 27 appearances across all competitions for Les Rennais ever since making his €14m move from the Bundesliga.
With his contract expiring in June 2025, Rennes will expect to part ways with the midfielder expecting nothing short of €15-20m for his services.
Despite the arrival of Sergio Oliveira, Roma are still looking for reinforcements in midfield and Santamaria is a potential target.