Report: Roma Interested in January Move for Moise Kean

Well, since we spent most of yesterday discussing the fictional transfer of a 38-year-old striker whose best days are behind him, we might as well swing the pendulum the other way today, towards a 19-year-old with the world at his feet. After bursting onto the Serie A scene last season with six goals in thirteen matches, not to mention two more in Euro 2020 qualification for Italy, Moise Kean seemed poised to add to Juventus’ stunning embarrassment of riches.

With four goals in 19 appearances for Hellas Verona during the 2017-2018 season, Kean's name was included among the hoard of young Azzurri talent bursting through the ranks, joining the likes of Sandro Tonali, Andrea Pinamonit and our very own Nicolo Zaniolo as the proverbial future of Italy. But thanks to his impressive run with the Old Lady last spring, one in which he was scoring a goal every 90 minutes, Kean jumped to the front of that line.

Juve have depth at every position of course, but surely they could make room for a talent as explosive as Kean, right? All of which made his €33 million transfer to Everton even more confusing, and led some to cast aspersions on Kean's talent, hitting him with the scarlet p—poacher. In the end, Juventus simply couldn't say no to that kind of cash.

Joining a relatively young Everton team in the kick-and-run Premiership, Kean seemed poised to build on his successful spring with Juventus, a prediction that has fallen flat through the season's first three months.

With 11 appearances (all comps) totaling 408 minutes, it's safe to say that Kean's English adventure hasn't gone as planned, leading many to speculate he'll return to Italy.

The CdS adds Roma to Milan and Sampdoria as the list of clubs keen on, well, Kean. According to these rumors, all three clubs have (or soon will) approach the Merseyside club about a January loan for the 19-year-old striker. Given his age and potential, rumor holds that Everton aren't ready to completely part with Kean at the moment and might actually prefer a loan spell.

If that is indeed the case, Everton have to be careful to place Kean with a club where he'll actually garner significant minutes throughout the remainder of the season. Milan have Krzystof Piatek, Hakan Calhanoglu, Suso and Leao along the forward line, so Kean wouldn't be an instant starter or even a rotation piece, while Samp features the savvy veteran duo of Manolo Gabbiadini and Fabio Quagliarella. Roma, of course, has Edin Dzeko and then no other viable, healthy strikers.

If Everton are smart they'd toss Milan out of the equation and consider Roma vs. Sampdoria. The path to playing time is a bit clearer at Samp, simply because their strikers have barely scored this season, but they're in the thick of a relegation battle, so would they be willing to rely on a player so young with so much at stake?

With Roma, Kean wouldn't have to impress immediately, but with Dzeko struggling for goals at the moment and Nikola Kalinic offering nothing of note, it wouldn't take much for Kean to become a viable rotation piece for Paulo Fonseca down the stretch.

As we discussed yesterday, Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Roma does make sense (really for the same reasons Kean does, apart from age), but it doesn't feel likely. Moise Kean, meanwhile, is precisely the type of player Roma should be scouting. Roma's attack has sputtered intermittently throughout this season and bringing in a player like Kean, who can get hot in an instant, could be just the shot in the arm they need as they chase down the top four.

Zlatan likely won't happen, but the Kean-to-Roma rumor is one to keep an eye on.