Roma Transfer Updates: Nainggolan, Cole and Bertolacci

Today is not your average lazy Sunday, at least not for our American readership. Not only is today Father's Day, but it's the first official day of summer. So whether you're taking pops out to brunch, firing up the grill to celebrate the summer solstice, or simply doing the usual Sunday chores (laundry, grocery shopping, dreading another work week), chances are you're not scouring the internet to catch up on the latest transfer rumors, so allow us to divulge this sick obsession of yours.

Magpies go for Ashley Cole

It's hard to picture anyone involved in the Ashley Cole signing last season imagined he'd recapture his glory days, but he still had enough juice in his legs and a keen enough understanding of the game to make a successful transition to Italian football. However, with only 11 league appearances, it's kind of hard to label him a bust. He was just the latest in a long line of players for whom Rudi Garcia had no use. So, despite the one year remaining on his Roma deal, it seems as though Cole is eyeing a move back to England, with Newcastle gunning for his signature. Rather than calling this a failure, let's just call an it an opportunity lost, or one not fully explored.

Roma near Bertolacci, Falque

We talked about this one multiple times this week, but with Walter Sabatini reportedly in Milan to meet with his Genovese counterpart, Stefano Capozucca, we may be moments away from an official deal, bringing Bertolacci back home and inserting Iago Falque into Roma's rotation on the wings, all for the tidy sum of €15m.

But, wait, there's more...

Milan to Meet With Roma for Bertolacci

If my elementary Italian is correct, it seems as though AC Milan will wait for Roma to secure the remaining 50% of Bertolacci's contract and then try to pry him away from his hometown club if not now, then at some point in the future. Bertolacci put in a fantastic season at Genoa and is even beginning to factor in the Azzurri set up, factors which haven't gone unnoticed around Italy, and now that Milan missed out on Kondogbia, they're itching to land another talented midfielder.

With his stock rising, let's hope Roma can lock this down asap.

Updates: Word is spreading now that the deal has been closed and Roma has secured the remaining half of Bertolacci's deal and obtained Iago Falque for €16.5m.

Nainggolan Deal Official Today?

See, what did we tell you? The figures always...always change throughout the rumor cycle. What was once €20m and a loan of Carlos Carbonero is now €16m and a loan of Daniele Verde.

But are these facts and figures easier to swallow?

Certainly skimming four million off the top of that figure is a step in the right direction, but who would you rather lose, Carbonero or Verde? One we've seen, while the other remains merely a name on a screen. Either way, locking down Nainggolan was priority number one this season, and if they managed to retain him for sixteen million, then thats all the better.

Besides, the odds that either Verde or Carbonero makes a mark in the league anytime soon is incredibly thin, so whatever it takes to save money on a proven asset, I'm all for it. Yes, yes. I know I spent all week harping on Roma not giving their youth a chance, but with Antonio Sanabria and Valmir Berisha still coming up through the ranks, Carbonero and Verde aren't even Roma's top striking prospects.

So, that's the news for now, updates as they become available.