Cengiz Under to Leicester: Could This Be a Risky Move for Roma?

Roma’s Cengiz Under has this weekend joined Leicester City on a season-long loan deal – but why might this be a risky move by Roma?

The Turkish international fell out of contention in the second half of last season. Of his 18 Serie A appearances, only two of those came after the restart, but now the 23-year-old has a new opportunity in Leicester.

Brendan Rodgers is a manager hailed for his development of youth players and in past seasons, he’s worked really well with foreign players, especially those coming into English football for the first time.

Under remains a player held in high-regards by Roma but after three seasons in the first-team, he looks as though he needs a reboot.

He’s so far made 88 appearances for the Rome club and scored 17 goals.

But with Roma permanently signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan over the summer, and bringing in Pedro on a free as well, first-team opportunities in midfield were always going to be slim for Under this time around.

Under only last year signed a long term deal with Roma to keep him at the club until 2023 and with that in mind, a loan move seemed the most beneficial thing for Under in this new season.

Leicester are reported to have the option to buy though, with The Guardian claiming the figure to be in the region of 27M euros.

It might seem like a win-win for Roma, but if Under can flourish in what is a very attacking Leicester City side, then they could snap him up for what could prove to be a bargain fee of little over £24 million this time next year.

So there is an element of risk in this deal for Roma. But what will Under’s first-team chances be like in Leicester – will he be any more involved than he might’ve been this season at Roma, or less so?

Rodgers has been calm in the transfer market so far this season; his sole signing to date remains the £21 million capture of Timothy Castagne from Atalanta. He already has a large squad at his disposal though, but only a handful of players similar to Under – the likes of Demarai Gray, Marc Albrighton, and Harvey Barnes.

In Leicester’s opening day win against West Brom last weekend, Rodgers fielded Barnes and striker Ayoze Perez on the wing, so cover on the wing looks to be needed.

He’s moved quickly to bring in Under on loan and given the Foxes set up against West Brom, the Turk may well become a regular starter sooner than he might anticipate. That again could spell good or bad news for Roma.

They’ll obviously want him to play and develop, which is the whole point of a loan deal, but that buy out price might just come back to bite Roma.

It might be lurking in the back of Paulo Fonseca’s mind if he sees Under banging in goals on Match of the Day, as he fears losing a player who’s still young, for a fee that wouldn’t break the bank in this market.