/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49877925/GettyImages-539414420.0.jpg)
It was with great pleasure yesterday that we passed along the report of Roma's pending loan with Real Madrid's Mateo Kovacic. He was, and could still be, an ideal replacement for Miralem Pjanic, both in form and function. While this deal may still come to pass, for the time being, it seems as though both sides have cooled a bit, with Madrid reportedly preferring a straight sale rather than a loan, while Roma has turned their eyes towards Newcastle's Giorgino Wijnaldum.
Confusing? Misleading?...yes, so let's throw another name onto the transfer pile, Ondre Duda, Legia Warsaw's 21-year-old Slovakian midfielder who is, coincidentally, tearing it up for his homeland at Euro 2016. Duda, who is sometimes referred to as Dudinho, has scored 10 goals for Legia Warsaw since making his debut two years ago.
(Euro trash music alert) While I'm not terribly hip to the level of play in the Polish league, as you can see Duda is pretty comfortable in the box, both setting up his teammates and getting on the end of a pass; he definitely seems to have the agility and quick thinking to work in an uptempo, vertical attack.
Roma are reportedly locked in a three-way battle for his signature with Fiorentina and Napoli, the latter of whom has the advantage of using Marek Hamsik as a recruiter. With Gerson, Leandro Paredes and potentially Mateo Kovacic in the fold, I haven't the slightest idea why Roma are chasing this kid, but, at least on paper (so to speak), he seems like an intriguing player.
And really, if for no other reason than the litany of Big Lebowski references I can make, I want this kid.