Reports: Roma to Sign Petronella Ekroth

With 18 months or so covering Serie A Femminile under my belt, I can safely say the differences between men's and women's football in Italy are minor (aside from the finances), but there is one area in which the women's game lags behind the men's—the absurd pace of the transfer rumor mill. Don't get me wrong, in some ways it's kind of a relief (after all, we see some patently absurd rumors on the men's side) but it does take some of the fun out of covering the league, particularly during the transfer windows.

While I hope that the game's impending switch to professional status gives the rumor mill some juice, it's been a pretty quiet transfer season for the Roma women, but that doesn't mean they've been sitting on their hands.

There will be no Sam Kerr, big-fish style signing this winter, but with Roma down one central defender thanks to Federica Di Criscio's ACL injury, the club does have an empty roster spot in need of addressing.

According to these yet to be confirmed reports, Roma have reached (or soon will) an agreement with Petronella Ekroth, a 30-year-old central defender from Sweden, who will reportedly take her medical at Villa Stuart tomorrow morning. Ekroth, who is currently playing for Djurgarden in Stockholm, has spent the majority of her career in her homeland, though she did make 12 appearances for Juventus during the 2018-2019 season, winning both the Coppa Italia and the Scudetto.

Ekroth, who didn't exactly leave Juve on good terms—calling it a “prison” and claiming the players were forbidden from discussing Cristiano Ronaldo's rape accusations (which has been refuted by some Juve players)—returned to Djurgarden this summer, for whom she played three seasons before moving to Juventus.

Unfortunately, Il Romanista didn’t cite their sources, but cruise on over to Ekroth's Instagram account and, in addition to seeing her working out with a guy I can only describe as "definitely Swedish", you'll see a cryptic story detailing an “interesting call” and that “exciting things” are happening, so it certainly seems like the wheels are in motion.

While I wouldn't expect Ekroth to steal minutes from Allyson Swaby, she should push Tecla Pettenuzzo for playing time in central defense. Ekroth has over 10 years of professional experience, including a title winning stint with Juventus last season, so this would be a solid move under normal circumstances, but with Roma being robbed of Di Criscio's experience, Ekroth could be an ideal fill-in.

We'll pass along more details as they become available, but this seems like a great move from Roma as it addresses an immediate need with an experienced veteran.