Belotti Contract Extension Could Take Effect in Early January

When Roma signed Andrea Belotti late last summer, Giallorossi fans were surprised—to say the least. Sure, this wasn’t the same kid who scored 26 goals for Torino as a 22-year-old in 2016, but with 62 Serie A goals since then, Belotti remained one of Italy’s more consistent strikers. And Roma was adding him to a lineup that already included Lorenzo Pellegrini, Nicolo Zaniolo, last season’s star striker Tammy Abraham and arguably the biggest signing of the 21st century, Paulo Dybala.

But the signing itself wasn’t the only surprise—the nature of the deal threw many transfer pundits for a loop. With most journalists presuming Belotti was inking a long-term contract with the capital club, Roma surprised us: they only signed Belotti to a one-year deal.

Admittedly, this isn’t exactly an anomaly; players sign incentive-laden deals all the time, but after such a dogged pursuit, and with Belotti turning down multiple clubs, it felt a bit odd that either party would leave things to chance.

However, according to La Repubblica, Belotti is rapidly approaching the necessary threshold to trigger the two option years on his deal. With 10 appearances already, Belotti is well on his way to hitting the 60% appearance benchmark. According to La Repubblica, Belotti could meet this mark in early January 2023, when he makes his 21st appearance for the club.

Whether playing alongside Tammy Abraham or pushing him for the starting place, Andrea Belotti appears to have a home in the Eternal City.

Now, let’s get some more goals, please.