Report: Roma to Join Race for Davide Frattesi

Prior to Roma's €45 million capture of former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham last summer, many Roma fans were clamoring for the club to bring former youth product Gianluca Scamacca back to the fold—and with good reason. Tall, talented, and tattooed for days, Scamacca is one of Italy's best and brightest young forwards, and with 10 goals in 25 Serie A appearances, he's well on his way to living up to that billing.

While that ship has likely sailed, he's not the only former Roma farm hand plying his trade with Sassuolo. Davide Frattesi, a 22-year-old midfielder from Rome, actually got his start with Lazio's youth system before realizing the error of his ways and linking up with the Giallorossi in the summer of 2014. After impressing with Roma's Primavera side, including hoisting the Primavera Coppa Italia and Supercoppa during the 2016-2017 season, Frattesi was sold to Sassuolo for a cool €5 million. Roma retained a buy-back clause worth a reported €10 million that was never exercised, though.

After a series of Serie B loans with Ascoli, Empoli, and Monza, Frattesi made his Serie A debut on August 21, 2021, against Hellas Verona in a 3-2 victory at the Stadio Bentegodi—and he’s barely missed a beat since then. With 28 appearances in all competitions, including 25 starts, Frattesi has proved he can hold his own in Italy's top flight, scoring four goals and providing two assists, teaming with Scamacca and Domenico Berardi to keep the Neroverdi in the top half of the league table.

All of which brings us to today's news:

According to Calciomercato, Roma are preparing to join the fray for Frattesi this summer, a tussle that reportedly includes Inter Milan, Napoli, and Juventus. Valued at roughly €25 million, Roma will have to dig deep to afford Frattesi, to say nothing of fending off the likes of the Old Lady and Inter, but the Giallorossi do have a few key factors working in their favor.

From Lorenzo Pellegrini to Gregoire Defrel and even all the way back to forgotten Roma prospect Luca Antei, Roma and Sassuolo have as good a working relationship as you'll find in Serie A. Throw in the fact that Frattesi's agent, Giuseppe Riso, represents current Roma players Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante, and Roma’s odds may not be as long as they seem at first blush.

It will still be a tough sell, but Frattesi could be an integral part of Roma's Mourinho Makeover.