Report: Sampdoria to Offer Mikkel Damsgaard to Roma

For the romantics among us, Massimo Ferrero is the owner we wish Roma had—no offense intended to Dan Friedkin. The Testaccio native and film producer has never hidden his passion for the Giallorossi and one would imagine that, if he could have compiled a group of significant investors at any point over the past decade or so, he would have taken a serious run at purchasing his hometown club.

Absent actually owning his beloved Roma, Ferrero has been content to cheer the club on from afar, serving as almost a de facto hypeman for the Giallorossi. And according to the Corriere dello Sport, Ferrero would like to offer a helping hand to Roma this season in the form of Danish midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard:

With Sampdoria feeling some financial stress of their own, Ferrero is quite keen on cashing in on Damsgaard and views Roma as the perfect transfer partner for the 21-year-old midfielder:

Damsgaard is the midfielder (Roma) needs. If they call me, we’ll make an agreement. Damsgaard is stronger than Xhaka,

He is a quality midfielder, he can also play in that role...Let’s sit down, just call me and we will find a solution. Xhaka doesn’t go to Roma, so they need another midfielder. I want him to go to Rome, I am a Romanisti and Damsgaard would be a great reinforcement

Damsgaard isn't exactly an out-and-out defensive midfielder like Xhaka or Dortmund's Thomas Delaney, but he's an incredibly versatile player. Last season alone, Damsgaard featured as a traditional midfielder (on the left and right), an attacking midfielder, a center forward, a left-winger, a right-winger, and even a wing-back, scoring two goals and providing four assists in roughly 1,800 league minutes last season.

While he only made a few spot appearances at defensive midfield, among attacking players and wingers, his defensive statistics (pressures, tackles, interceptions, blocks, and aerials won) all ranked in the 78th percentile or higher, so the skills may translate if he switched positions permanently.

Damsgaard may not be a defensive midfielder in the purest sense, but his bag of skills, positional versatility, and age could make him the ideal lump of clay for Mourinho to mold as he sees fit.