Malcom Medical As Soon as Tuesday

If you’ve been following CdT for a while now, you’re quite aware with my love of alliteration. I have no idea why I’m so fond of this particular form of figurative language—I certainly don’t speak that way—but for whatever reason, when it came time for me to start writing headlines, it seemed natural. So, take a look at the top of the page and imagine how annoyed I was that Malcom’s medical examination wasn’t scheduled for Monday. I’ll live, but it’s definitely a loss for all of us.

All kidding aside, it appears as though several weeks of wing-focused rumors are coming to an end. After tearing through stories on Hakim Ziyech, Suso, Federico Chiesa and several others, Roma seemingly has their man, Bordeaux’s 21-year-old Brazilian winger, Malcom Filipe Silva de Oliveira, who may or may not have a medical examination this Tuesday.

However, before they check his vital signs, the two clubs still have to hash out a deal. As you recall, late last week when discussing Cengiz Ünder’s place among the most valuable U21s in the world (he was 20th), we noted that Malcom ranked fifth on that list, valued at over €60 million. Rest assured, Roma are not paying that full, speculative value. Based on several reports, it seems as though Roma and Bordeaux are trying to hash out the difference between the offer (€37.5 million) and the asking price (€40 million), but neither side deems this an impasse and believe a deal will be brokered sooner rather than later.

Anyway you slice it, that’s a lot of money for a player so young, so you can rest assured the expectations will be high for Roma’s new winger. Malcom will join Patrik Schick and Bryan Cristante in the €30 million + club, which should entitle him to his pick of scarfs if and when he makes debut in front of the fans.

Once Malcom does sign, Roma will have a glut of wingers and forwards, so don’t be shocked if one or more end up leaving, but in the short term it’ll be interesting to see how EDF splits time between all these young players. Between Malcom, Ünder and Justin Kluivert, Roma has three of the best U21 players....IN THE WORLD.

I feel like we say this every time, but if they can put it all together, Roma may be onto something big.