Roma will not acquire Granit Xhaka, but they continue to look at England to find their new midfielder. They are tracking André Zambo Anguissa and Douglas Luiz. Although their current evaluations are above their budget, Corriere dello Sport reports.
The Fulham player has a €25M price tag and recorded 3 assists in 36 appearances last season. He was signed for a similar sum from Olympique Marseille in 2018 and also spent a season on loan at Villarreal. Instead, Roma had already set eyes on the Aston Villa contributor earlier in the summer. He is currently participating in the Olympics with Brazil. But he is likely more expensive than Anguissa, the publication adds. The Giallorossi recently invested in Eldor Shomurodov and need to part ways with a host of fringe players to free up some cash.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, José Mourinho is preparing an alternative if they could not get a new playmaker. Lorenzo Pellegrini would feature deeper on the pitch, differently from recent seasons, next to Jordan Veretout in front of the defense. Gonzalo Villar and Bryan Cristante would be the back-up options. Henrikh Mkhitaryan would serve as the no.10. The former Genoa attacker or Stephan El Shaarawy would complete the front-line manning the left flank, with Nicolò Zaniolo on the right one.
Roma are after multiple options to plug the hole, including AZ’s Teun Koopmeiners and Borussia Dortmund’s Thomas Delaney. But the Portuguese gaffer would be ready to make do with the men he already has at his disposal.