Roma and Zenit Negotiating Manolas Transfer

The Roma supermarket now has extended summer hours. Need a speedy winger but don’t want to deal with overpriced English clubs? Come to the Roma supermarket, we have them in spades, and we’ll even knock a million off the price before signing the deal? Are you in the market for a lightning fast, intelligent, hard nosed and in his prime defender? Well, look no further, we’ve got you covered!

How much of the impending Roma firesale is directly attributable to their FFP transgressions remains to be seen, but thus far Roma under Monch is the same song and dance—selling players before they reach their peak and filling their shoes with bargain bin replacements.

Exit Mohamed Salah and enter Rachid Ghezzal or Xherdan Shaqiri. Close your eyes and you can almost smell the second hand smoke; it’s almost as if Sabatini never left. The latest ad for show in Roma’s coupon book is Kostas Manolas.

You know him, the slick, slightly bruising central defender who made Roma fans forget about Mehdi Benatia in an instant, the same kid who has solidified himself as one of the best central defenders in the league. Yeah, him. Well, he’s gone.

According to multiple reports, Roma are ready to cash in on Greece Lightning, as they’re reportedly inching towards a €35 million transfer with Zenit St. Petersburg. So lest you think the Salah sale was a one time, FFP appeasing affair, think again. The doors to the Roma Supermarket are swung wide open.

While a small matter of €5 million remains the only sticking point, it is believed that Manolas has already agreed to a three year deal worth a reported €4 million per season, which seems entirely within Roma’s range, making this potential sale all the more worrisome.

So while we can and probably should preach patience with Monchi, his first few weeks on the job suggests that this is the same old Roma, where the only thing truly loved but not discussed is profit.