Schick's Agent Warns of Long Negotiating Process with RB Leipzig

Roma's €42 million investment in Patrik Schick may have gone belly up, but the 24-year-old forward found new life in the Bundesliga. After an impressive debut with Sampdoria in 2016, Schick's two-year stay in Rome resulted in five goals in 46 league appearances; not exactly what Roma envisioned when they broke their transfer record for Schick in the summer of 2017.

To be fair to Schick, he was often played out of position under Eusebio Di Francesco, or at least in a role that wasn't ideally suited to his skill set, and became a forgotten man once Claudio Ranieri took over in the spring of 2019. And although he was given a cursory glance by Paulo Fonseca this past summer, Roma thought it better to arrange a loan for their young forward.

And it turned out to be a productive loan at that. With seven goals and two assists in 15 appearances with RB Leipzig, Schick seems to have found a new home in the Bundesliga. While Roma tried to hash out a deal over the winter, they weren't able to come to an agreement with their German counterparts, meaning Roma had to pay the remaining €20 million transfer fee to Sampdoria in February.

With the full freight now paid, Roma have two choices: Bring him back to Rome and see if he can rediscover that Samp form or cut your losses and sell him on the open market. The second option would seem more likely, and far easier if Leipzig would just exercise their €29 million option on Schick this summer, but there has been no movement on that front thus far.

On his client's future, Schick's agent preached patience:

We are in no rush for the negotiations and a decision will be made in mid-to-late June. At this moment, there are some very intensive talks, and everyone knows it’ll be for an inferior sum to the one that had been agreed. The loan runs to June 30, so there’s still plenty of time and no need for rushed decisions.

In my view, it’s going to be a long negotiation process. There is also interest from other clubs, but we are completely concentrated on Leipzig.

Apparently everyone knows it will be for an inferior sum...yeesh. Even after rebounding in the spring, it seems like the footballing world doesn't view Schick as a €30 million man, but this does make for an interesting situation for Gianluca Petrachi.

Will they stick with the sure thing and hash out some sort of deal with Leipzig—a club they know wants him but may not meet Roma's asking price—or do they roll dice and play the market, where you may find a club willing to pony up €29 million or you may end up stuck with a sulking Schick at Trigoria?

It's a sticky and expensive situation and it's one Roma need to put behind them as soon as possible.