Will Berardi Be Roma’s First Big Purchase?

Depending on if, when, and how much Roma sells Kostas Manolas and Leandro Paredes for, they will have hauled in a whopping €120 million or so , a substantial portion of which, based on the initial prices of those players, stands as pure profit, though some of that revenue will surely go towards appeasing Roma’s FFP sanctions. Point being, Roma is suddenly flush with cash, and much like a child at a craps table, has no idea what to do with it.

Thus far most of the names to which Roma has been connected are your typical Monchi types, under the radar signings that have huge potential to reap further financial windfalls down the road, but what about the big name? The Mr. X? Should fans be expecting a flashy move this summer, or are we all about that moneyball?

Well, if you connect the dots between Roma’s now vacant wing spot and Eusebio Di Francesco’s history with him, Domenico Berardi would seem the ideal candidate to fill that tactical void while also giving the fan base something to foam over.

While many have assumed this move would come to fruition based on that familiarity, the Corriere dello Sport flat out claims that EDF has insisted that Roma sign his former protege. The CdS further claims that Roma will make a significant investment to replace Salah, and could potentially unveil four new signings this week alone. Presumably those four signings would be Lorenzo Pellegrini, Rick Karsdorp, (hopefully not) Rachid Ghezzal and potentially Berardi.

But let's focus on that last name for a bit, shall we? While Berardi would ostensibly slot into Salah’s former position on the right flank, he is far from a like-for-like replacement for Salah, focusing more on skill and technique than pure, unadulterated pace. Where Salah is a dynamic and gifted winger, Berardi may be more of a pure playmaker masquerading as a winger. Getting Berardi won’t allow Roma to replicate their form with Salah, but he may open up a new host of attacking opportunities.

Pure and simple, Berardi is, despite his lack of a clearly defined position, far too talented to pass up; you want a kid like this in your squad. As far as the price is concerned, if Roma can grab him for anything around €25 million, we can consider that a success.

So we’ll see, if the CdS is correct, it’s shaping up to be a busy week.