Roma and Atalanta held a summit in Milan Tuesday to arrange some deals that could interest both sides. The Giallorossi are hunting for one further midfielder on top of Davide Frattesi, and such negotiation keeps lagging.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Quotidiano Nazionale), the Giallorossi inquired about Mario Pasalic, while La Dea is eyeing Stephan El Shaarawy. The Croatian international bagged 13 goals last season. On the other hand, the Bergamaschi rarely declare any player untouchable, the publication adds. They could decide to let him go and sign a purer attacker to tweak their usual scheme. Instead, the former Milan forward has just a year on his contract, and his role is mostly secondary.
Roma and Atalanta also discussed two fringe players, Aleksey Miranchuk and Carles Perez, who have not been regulars in the last couple of seasons. Houssem Aouar is the most concrete alternative to Frattesi, the outlet adds. However, the management remains optimistic about landing the Sassuolo starlet. The Neroverdi signed Kristian Thorstvedt from Genk for €10M yesterday, who has similar traits.
The Giallorossi are also trying to cull their roster. They had a meeting with Monza, who asked for Gonzalo Villar. They offered a €2M loan spell with an €8M conditioned obligation to buy in case they avoid relegation, SportMediaset reports.
Our Take on the Roma and Atalanta Talks
The capital side would be wise to bring in a creative midfielder to compensate for the loss of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and help out Lorenzo Pellegrini. Pasalic is a good player, but he is more of a slasher and finisher than a playmaker. He is certainly better than Diego Demme, who has been linked to them recently, and a decent option overall, although not an ideal one.