Schick Watch Day Four: Roma v. Inter

As we await Roma’s Champions League fate, it’s only appropriate we check in on Schick Watch 2017. Now entering day four, it seems as though Roma and Inter, bitter enemies on the pitch, will also dual for the young Czech sensations signature off the pitch, as the latest reports indicate the battle for the 21-year-old attacker has boiled down to only Roma and Inter, with each side pulling out all the stops.

Football Italia passed along a Sky Sports report that indicates that indeed Roma and Inter Milan are the two final contests for Schick, having beaten Juventus and PSG to the punch. The standing issue simply seems to, whose interest will win out: Will Sampdoria get a more immediate and assured injection of cash from Roma, or can Schick and his goons delay until Inter are able to raise funds by selling Marcelo Brozovic or Cristian Ansaldi?

While Inter’s approach to winning the hearts and minds of Schick’s camp rested in a late night dinner meeting, one in which Walter Sabatini probably had to step outside for several smoke breaks, Roma took a decidedly different track:

While time will ultimately tell whether or not this approach worked, Roma fans should be a bit worried. If, as Sampdoria claimed earlier in the week, Roma was truly leading the race, offering a deal worth €38 million, why hasn’t the deal been concluded? The mere fact that there has been a delay suggests to me that Inter were truly leading all along, at least as far as Schick is concerned, which is ultimately the only opinion that matters, meaning Roma may (once again) be left holding the bag.

Either way, we should hopefully have a resolution to this after the weekend, but losing Schick to Inter will surely sting for several reasons, especially since they would have been duped by their former leaders, Walter Sabatini and Luciano Spalletti.

So, while it’s not looking good, at least keep your fingers crossed.