Arsenal, along with London rivals Chelsea, are reportedly interested in Roma’s Daniele De Rossi.
Despite denials from the Roma staff, the tenacious Italian midfielder’s future at the Stadio Olimpico remains in doubt with very little progress being made over a new deal.
The 28-year-old, who has made over 350 appearances for the Giallorossi, has less than a year to run on his current Roma contract, and the clubs new owners are desperate to tie him down to a new deal before he is able to sign a pre-agreement deal with another club in January.
Earlier this week, Roma’s sporting director Walter Sabatini was quoted on Sky Sports saying:
‘He’s not the subject of offers at the moment.’
‘We are still negotiating with him regarding a contract renewal.’
‘If those talks do not end positively, we will risk losing him next summer as a free agent. I would rather take that risk than sell him now. But, having said that, things can often happen quite suddenly in football.’
Italian publication Gazzetta del Sud recently claimed that both Arsenal and Chelsea are keeping tabs on De Rossi’s developments.
While Chelsea have been long-term admirers of the Italian international, the Italian media now suggest that Arsenal are also interested in De Rossi’s services.
It is believed that Arsene Wenger will only make a move for the Italian midfielder, but only if he loses the services of Cesc Fabregas this summer.
Personally, I hope that De Rossi fails to agree terms with Roma, so that we could snap him up for nothing in January.
Regardless of whether Fabregas stays or goes, Wenger should seriously consider the possibility of signing this world-class midfielder. Granted, De Rossi may demand high wages, but I’m sure we could free up some space for this, especially with the potential sales of Manuel Almunia, Emmanuel Eboue and Nicklas Bendtner this summer.
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bullsh*t.
Oh My God!!! This is great news. I’m having a great big rush, I’m feeling so high after hearing this News. Just in case -> SARCASM.
3 things:
1) this rumour isn’t new; De Rossi has been linked with an Arsenal move like a month or two ago;
2) the idea that he would fill in for Cesc is really weird; they differ in style, ability, and even position (De Rossi is more of a defensive midfielder);
3) finally – it all sounds rubbish alright, the only way De Rossi could appear on Wenger’s radar would be if his price flopped or if there was no younger player available.