Roma made some adjustments in the midfield in January, but José Mourinho has not stopped considering Granit Xhaka the ideal signing in the role. They negotiated at length with Arsenal, but they could not come to terms. They will make another attempt in the summer, Calciomercato.com reports.
The Swiss talisman had agreed to the move last August. He has since extended his contract until 2024, adding one year to his previous deal. Despite that, he has not fully repaired the relationship with his current team and the fans after asking out. He has been under fire lately for refusing to take the captain’s armband in the Brentford match, The Mirror informs.
Mourinho indicated Xhaka as one of the top priorities after joining, and Roma proceeded to open talks with Arsenal. After some back-and-forth, the gap between the offer and the request was just €2.5M, Gianluca Di Marzio relayed. However, the Giallorossi refused to make the final push to seal the deal. They preferred investing in Matias Vina to replace Leonardo Spinazzola, who had just suffered a major injury during the Euro.
The two sides arranged the transfer of Ainsley Maitland-Niles in January. Roma brought in Sergio Oliveira during the winter, but that does rule out the purchase of a pure distributor like Xhaka, as Mourinho indicated in a recent presser. The Giallorossi could part ways with Jordan Veretout if they signed another midfielder. Torino have expressed some interest in acquiring him. They join Milan and Tottenham among the potential landing spots, Tuttosport reports.