If we can take Cagliari's 140 characters for their word, Roma have completed their hijacking of Davide Astori from Lazio using the Sabatini special prestito con diritto di riscatto, otherwise known as a loan with the right of redemption. Roma's initial investment in Astori is €2m, with the option to buy costing an additional €6m, making the final cost, of course, €8m--though this has yet to be officially confirmed.
#Asseminello La società comunica di aver ceduto @DavideAstori alla @OfficialASRoma con la formula del prestito con diritto di riscatto
— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) July 24, 2014
Eight million for a centerback with 168 Serie A appearances and a handful of national call-ups to his name, not bad. Not bad at all.
Assuming he stays in Roma, the quartet of Mehdi Benatia, Leandro Castan, Davide Astori and Alessio Romagnoli is quite stout and surely ranks among the league's best, giving Rudi Garcia's backline size, mobility and strength on the ball.
It's amazing to think how far this club has come in two years. Hell, back then we would've bent over backwards to get Astori as our number defender, now he's simply a reinforcement.
Updates to follow.
OFFICIAL: The club has released the official pdf. And get this, the total cost is only €7m, or the same price Lazio had negotiated in the first place.
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