Roma are keen on reinforcing their squad, especially in midfield and defence, given that they already strengthened their attack with the onboarding of Tammy Abraham and Eldor Shomurodov, post star striker Edin Dzeko’s departure.
Jose Mourinho is reportedly keen on luring a right-back to give Dutchman Rick Karsdop some competition on the right wing. This has surfaced the name of Barcelona wing-back Serginho Dest for a potential move to Stadio Olimpico, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via El Nacional).
Roma are touted to go all-in in the January winter market, in order to bolster the squad and fight for a place in Europe next season, as well as potentially compete for the Europa Conference League and other domestic trophies this season.
21-year-old Dest has fallen out-of-favour at Camp Nou under new boss Xavi Hernandez, making him an apt transfer target. He has a market value of €30m (via transfermarkt), with a contract in Barcelona that expires only in June 2025.
Barcelona are only interested in a direct transfer option for the USMNT star, as opposed to a loan deal with a purchase-later option.
Given his price tag, Roma have also identified other targets as alternatives such as Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot, Norwich City’s Max Aarons and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Henrichs.
The latter is also said to be a favourite to strengthen the right-wing area. With appearances coming far and few in the Bundesliga, Henrichs is open to a move away from East Germany.
\Anything in the range of €10-15m should be enough to lure him to Rome, making him a much cheaper alternative to Dest.