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We'll take a break from the Mohamed Salah speculation marathon to focus on Roma's officially signing Wojciech Szczesny on loan from Arsenal. While opinions on Woj tend to vary, with some calling him an up and comer and others a headcase, we can rest assured that he is, at the very least, a competent understudy to Morgan De Sanctis.
One thing we remained uncertain of, however, was the exact nature of this transfer. Was it one-year loans as is, or did Roma manage to insert a buyout clause for their new keeper? Well, the official announcement did nothing to squelch that uncertainty.
AS Roma are delighted to confirm the signing of Polish international goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny from Arsenal on loan.
The 25-year-old put pen to paper on an initial one-year loan contract with the Giallorossi on Wednesday after successfully completing a medical in Rome on Monday.
Szczesny is regarded as one of the best young goalkeepers in the world and made 29 appearances for the London club during the 2014-15 season.
The "initial one-year loan" statement leaves this open to interpretation. Is there a clause or not? Is it mandatory, incentive based or appearance based? We simply don't know, but the phrasing there, which one can assume is deliberate, leaves a lot of room for speculation. As we've discussed since this rumor broke, the existence of a buyout clause will ultimately dictate the success of this move. Unless he steers Roma to a title, a one-off loan seems sort of pointless, so let's hope Sabatini brokered an option of some sort.
Either way, at least Roma were able to close this deal in relatively short order. So much so that Woj has already participated in his first training session, donning the #25 shirt.