Karsdorp Takes Roma Medical

If Roma are true to their word, or least live up to the reported rumors, then this could be a jam packed week, as Monchi will reportedly unveil four new signings this week. The first of which appears to be Roma’s new right back, 22-year-old Rick Karsdorp, formerly of Feyenoord, who has landed in Rome and reported to Villa Stuart for his medical examination, and given Roma’s recent record with defenders, let’s hope they take a second look at those ACLs.

While the final figures remain a source of debate—some say €15 million, while others are as high as €17 million—in Karsdorp, Roma has signed their sixth right back of the American administration...hey, one for every manager! Pretty Ricky follows Ivan Peris, Vasilis Torosidis, Maicon, Bruno Peres and Abdullahi Nura in that procession of players.

Where exactly Karsdorp falls in that pecking order, and who Roma purchases next season to replace him, remains to be seen. However, in the here and now the job appears Karsdorp’s to lose, so let’s take a quick look at how he stacks up against Bruno Peres, last summer’s megawatt signing.

As you can see from my hastily cobbled together graph, the difference between Karsdorp and Peres on a per 90 minute basis is fairly negligible, with Peres holding a pretty significant (on this scale) advantage in the major offensive categories listed above, dribbles crosses completed per 90 minutes.

So, you may be asking, why would Roma invest an additional €16 or €17 million in another right back? Well, the answer is rather apparent, Eusebio Di Francesco simply isn’t a fan of Peres. Minutes after being hired for the job, EDF admitted Peres would have to adapt to survive and thrive in his tactical setup, so the odds were always seemingly stacked against Bruno rebounding under Di Francesco.

Karsdorp is several years younger than Peres, so in time his offensive repertoire my expand to resemble Peres at his peak, but for this coming season, this would appear to be, at worst, a lateral move. Now, if Karsdorp flourishes among his more talented teammates and takes a leap forward, Roma will be sitting pretty.

If not, hey, what’s another fullback? Just throw it on the pile.