No matter your opinion on Roma's signing of Ashley Cole, credit them with this much: they didn't waste much time. While Cole has been a de facto free agent since the Premiership season ended in May, the Roma connections didn't spring up until late last week, meaning we moved from rumor to PDF in less than a week; pretty impressive stuff from Walter Sabatini. Ashley Cole may not be what he once was, but had Roma dragged their feet, they surely would've missed out on Cole.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>BACKSTAGE: Ashley <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cole?src=hash">#Cole</a>'s selfie with his new Giallorossi jersey! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HungryForGlory?src=hash">#HungryForGlory</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealAC3">@TheRealAC3</a> <a href="http://t.co/0UDnSYGYPK">pic.twitter.com/0UDnSYGYPK</a></p>— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialASRoma/statuses/486197187710566400">July 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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The financial details of the deal were not disclosed by the club, but Cole has signed on for a two year hitch in Rome, with an option for a third year. If the rumors are correct, Cole is set to earn approximately €2.3 million per season. Cole joins Seydou Keita and today's other signee, Salih Uçan, as Roma first official strikes of the summer market.
While Uçan is very much a work in progress, Roma's capture of Cole, Keita and, if it comes to fruition, Samuel Eto'o, point towards one thing: championship experience at the highest levels of the game, as each man has won virtually every club title imaginable, including the Champions League.
Speaking of Uçan, the club did release the particulars of this much talked about deal.
A.S. Roma S.p.A. would like to announce that it has agreed a loan deal with Fenerbahce Futbol A.S. for the player Salih Uçan for a fee of €4.75 million. The contract is valid for the 2014/15 season and includes an option to extend the loan for another year, at no additional cost, and sign the player permanently from the 2016/17 season for a fee of €11 million.
Salih Uçan has therefore signed a 5-year contract, which expires on 30 June 2019.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Salih Ucan and the kids at AS Roma Camp in a surprise selfie! <a href="https://twitter.com/salihucan48">@salihucan48</a> <a href="http://t.co/r6WYWlVeQY">pic.twitter.com/r6WYWlVeQY</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HungryForGlory?src=hash">#HungryForGlory</a></p>— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialASRoma/statuses/486190201686212608">July 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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We picked this apart over the past several weeks, but kudos to Sabatini for limiting Roma's risk on this, both financially and footbally...that's a word now, accept it. Uçan will have the chance to ease into the first team, while the club has a two-year window in which to evaluate the young midfielder before paying the full freight.
In other news, it appears as though Dodo is working his way towards Inter Milan, reportedly taking a medical exam on Tuesday ahead of his two-year stay at the San Siro. Roma have reportedly included an option to buy the young Brazilian at €7 million.
Walter Sabatini and Rudi Garcia have laid the groundwork for this year's Champions League campaign, filling out the roster not only with veterans, but veterans with championship pedigrees.
And yet, you can't help but shake the feeling that we're waiting for a gigantic shoe to drop. As solid as the Cole and Keita moves may be, they're lacking in oomph. Both will help in the short term, but both are far beyond their best days, so the sizzle is still lacking.
Something tells me Sabatini is going to shock the world shortly.