Should Roma Sign Another Winger?

We knew heading into Sunday’s match that Roma’s mercato was still open for business. The Giallorossi were always going to need another central defender to improve the roster. Yet, just how badly a reinforcement was needed became abundantly clear on Sunday. Roma blew three one goal leads on the way to a 3-3 draw against Genoa. More Daniele Rugani and Dejan Lovren rumors anyone?

Plus, there were always the exits to be handled before next Monday. Robin Olsen, Gregoire Defrel, Maxime Gonalons and Davide Santon are all likely out the door. Then there’s the still lingering issue of Patrik Schick, who also seems to be on the way out. His latest rumored destination: RB Leipzig. If he is indeed shipped out then a reserve striker needs to be purchased--apparently Roma has its sights set on Nikola Kalinić: his underwhelming season at Atletico Madrid is not looking like a deterrent.

What we didn’t expect at this point in the transfer window was to see Roma in the market for another winger. Nevertheless, after the recent news of the extent of Diego Perotti’s hamstring injury, Roma may need more than just a center back and potential Schick replacement. Needless to say, it’s going to be a busy week for Gianluca Petrachi.

After Stephan El Shaarawy decided to pull a Marco Polo and head for the riches of China this summer, Roma decided to stand pat and ride with what it had on the wings. After all, there were bigger fish to fry on the market.

That left Justin Kluivert, Diego Perotti, and Cengiz Ünder on the roster. Joining them was Mirko Antonucci returning from his loan spell in Serie B with Pescara. It seemed like enough, considering Nicolò Zaniolo played some wing last season. Additionally, Alessandro Florenzi was freed up a bit to push forward with the arrival of Davide Zappacosta.

The loss of Perotti for up to two months hurts. Pun intended. It’s an injury that could test an already thin position for Roma. One that’s vital to Fonseca’s attacking style. With that in mind, it’s reported that Taison has been offered to the Giallorossi in an attempt to reunite him with his former manager.

While on the surface this may look like a good move, especially when considering his track record under Fonseca in Ukraine--44 goals and 71 assists in 242 appearances--it’s not such a cut and dry move though, as the Brazilian is 31 and his club, Shakhtar Dontesk, aren’t offering any discounts on the €25 million asking price.

This morning a new name surfaced as an alternative to Taison. According to Il Romanista and other sources, Roma has turned to Sassuolo’s Jeremie Boga as a low-cost option. Boga, a 22-year-old Ivorian, arrived in Emilia-Romagna last season from Chelsea last season for €3.5m. It’s said that a €7m bid is on the table to bring him to the capital. However, the London side do hold a buyback clause, of which details weren’t released.

Now it’s up to Petrachi to decide if making a move for someone like Taison or Boga is worth Roma’s resources, considering the need in defense. Petrachi will have to decide if a combination of Ünder, Kluivert, and Antonucci with cover from Florenzi and Zaniolo is enough to hold Roma over until Perotti returns. Otherwise, Roma will have to scrounge together the cash to add depth to the position.