José Mourinho wishes to add a pure deep-lying playmaker in the summer and is eyeing two London-based midfielders. Roma already pursued Granit Xhaka in the past and will make another attempt. Alternatively, the Portuguese gaffer would like to reunite with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Corriere della Sera informs.
Roma signed Sergio Oliveira in January. However, the coach quickly indicated that he plays in a different role. He has featured as box-to-box since joining, with strong returns. Bryan Cristante has primarily served as the linchpin this season, but he is not an inventive distributor. The manager stated that such addition is essential to round out the team.
The Giallorossi will try again to satisfy Mourinho and are keeping tabs on the Arsenal and Tottenham midfielders. They negotiated at length with the Gunners last summer, but they could not strike a deal. Xhaka has since signed an extension until 2024. He has fully recaptured his prominent role after suffering a serious knee injury in the early going.
Instead, the future of Hojbjerg could be affected by the arrival of Rodrigo Bentancur and by the hiring of Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici in general. The Danish international previously said that he played his best football with Mourinho at the Spurs bench. It remains to be seen what kind of price tag he would have, though. Roma has not been shy about spending to make their coach happy. The 26-year-old previously played at Southampton, Bayern Munich, and Schalke 04. The Giallorossi could finance the purchase by selling Jordan Veretout.