Roma Makes Perotti and Zukanovic Moves Permanent

A day after brushing off Empoli, Roma took care of some business in the boardroom. While Stephan El Shaarawy has grabbed all the headlines among Roma's new signees, Diego Perotti and Ervin Zukanovic have been no less critical in Roma's six match winning streak. While El Shaarawy has grabbed the goals, Perotti's intuitive play in the false nine role as virtually recreated Roma's entire attacking philosophy, while Zukanovic has provided a steadying and versatile presence in Luciano Spalletti's backline.

So, given their quick acclimation, it should come as no surprise that the club made both moves permanent today:

As shown in the statement published by the club today confirming the approval of the half-yearly report, the two players have now been transferred to AS Roma on a permanent basis after the relative contractual clauses were met.

The Argentine forward, who initially joined on loan from Genoa in January, has a contract running until June 2019. The Bosnian defender, who signed on loan from Sampdoria in the January transfer window, also has a contract until June 2019.

Not a bad piece of business from Walter Sabatini, grabbing two men who were, let's be honest, also rans and turning them into integral pieces in the Spalletti machine; a far cry from last winter's miserable mercato. While I pegged Perotti as a guy who had already met his ceiling, if he keeps this up, I just may be eating his words; he may have late bloomer written all over him.

Beyond those moves, the club also released financial particulars for several other transactions, most notably Brazilian sensation, Gerson. The 18-year-old midfielder cost Roma a whopping €16.6 million; a hefty price for a relatively unproven kid. How, when and where he plays, or even comes to the club, remains a mystery, but he might be the most intriguing prospect we've had in ages.

While El Shaarawy officially remains a Milan asset, the club confirmed the details of the deal: a €1.4 million loan with a €13 million option to buy. No specifics were given about that option (e.g. mandatory, mandatory after certain appearances, etc), but it's not hard to imagine Roma bending over backwards to retain El Shaarawy.

There were other financial details in the press release, but we'll end it with the most glorious one of all: Roma managed to get €18 million from Hebei Chinese Fortune for Gervinho PLUS €1 million in bonuses.

I'm not sure if Walter Sabatini did enough to warrant a contract extension, but he sure as hell better receive, I don't know, a gift certificate or something.