Roma and Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly opened talks over Danilo Pereira’s switch to Serie A in the final days of January. According to Le10Sport, Jose Mourinho has laid the foundations for the Portuguese midfielder’s arrival to reinforce his side’s top-four bid in the remainder of the season.
Danilo, who has another three years remaining on his contract at the Parc des Princes, has become a peripheral figure under Mauricio Pochettino of late. The 30-year-old has registered just ten Ligue 1 starts this season as the Argentine boss decided to hand up-and-coming midfielders Xavi Simons and Edouard Michut game time sooner than expected.
With his first-team prospects in Paris limited, Danilo could be open to accepting a move to Roma to get his stuttering career back on track. Meanwhile, Mourinho is in the market for a new deep-lying midfielder to increase competition for places at the Stadio Olimpico despite Jordan Veretout and Lorenzo Pellegrini enjoying stellar campaigns.
Roma require strength in depth if they are to fashion a genuine top-four challenge in the second half of the season. The Giallorossi currently trail fourth-placed Atalanta by five points despite experiencing an underwhelming first half of the season. So there’s enough time to reduce the gap.
Mourinho believes his side would be better off adding at least one more quality signing in January following the arrivals of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sergio Oliveira. Except for the abovementioned Veretout and Pellegrini, none of Roma’s other midfielders have lived up to expectations this season.
Since the Italians are operating on a tight budget, acquiring players on loan seems to be the only way for Mourinho to strengthen his squad this winter. With PSG seemingly ready to let Danilo leave, amid the player’s sporadic playing time, Roma could be on the verge of completing a significant piece of business before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Meanwhile, Mourinho has shipped Federico Fazio out to Salernitana on loan for the rest of the season to free up enough space in the wage bill.