Schick Watch Day Six: No One Knows What’s Going On

I feel safe in saying that I’ve never seen a transfer rumor/situation quite like the Patrik Schick to Roma mess. Here we have a player that was practically signed, sealed and delivered to Juventus, only to have the Turin giants pullout after Schick failed his medical examination. Oh, but wait, that heart condition that scuppered the deal, yeah, that was only temporary. Following that clear diagnosis, Schick’s Serie A future has been anything but.

On the surface, this seems like it should have been a rather cut and dry affair. Once Schick was given the all clear, Juventus should have just picked up where they left off, right? Well, not one to stand pat, the Old Lady moved on about her summer business, and thus had no immediate use for Schick, which has since opened Pandora’s box, with every other non-Juventus worth a grain of salt jumping into negotiations.

However, just a few short hours ago, it seemed as though that box was quickly slammed shut, with proclamations that Schick would simply bide his time and move to Juventus either in January or June of 2018; call it the world’s longest two weeks notice.

But, somehow, someway things changed while us Western Hemisphere-ers were sleeping. My Saturday morning started with the gentle hum of a neighbor’s chain saw, and as shocking as that was, it couldn’t match the site of the crack on the brewhead of my espresso machine, so it seemed as though the weekend was off to a cracking start.

Then, as I usually do, I check out all the usual Roma/Serie A news sites and saw that either Schick was giving Roma a second look or Massimino Ferrero was giving Juventus the finger. Either way, it seems as though Roma may once again be in the race, if not leading it outright.

While some sources indicate a make or break meeting will occur between Roma and Sampdoria tonight, others seem to think that the deal is all but done and dusted, merely waiting signatures on the €38 million transfer, which will see Schick earn €2 million per year over the course of half a decade.

Now, at some point overnight Napoli inserted themselves into this mess, reportedly offering Lorenzo Tonelli, Duvan Zapata, Ivan Strinic and cash considerations for Schick. So, while it seems as though Roma is once again agonizingly close to securing Schick, we’ll have to wait another 12 hours or so, desperately hoping that Ferrero and Daniele Prade’s ties to Roma win out.

In the meantime, we still have to tackle Inter!