Roma and Sassuolo to Meet Over Di Francesco Contract

While we’ve had a bit of fun running through the top candidates to be the next ex-manager of Roma, the worst kept secret in the Eternal City is simply that the job was always Eusebio Di Francesco’s. Your Laurent Blancs, Thomas Tuchels and Mike Ditkas were merely a smokescreen meant to distract you from EDFs impending arrival.

While we have, can and will quibble about Di Francesco’s suitability for the Roma post at this particular point in time, the only real stumbling block to his arrival was the buyout clause in his Sassuolo contract, which runs through June of 2019. In order to emancipate EDF, Roma must be willing to hand €3 million to the Neroverdi; not a small sum for a club that seemingly has to sell futons on Craig’s list to make ends meet.

To date, Roma has not opened up their wallet, giving fuel to the those other names, but they at least appear ready to negotiate with Sassuolo over Di Francesco’s release, as the two clubs will reportedly meet tomorrow to try and strike a deal. If all goes according to plan, Roma may have their man by the weekend.

The particulars of that deal remain shrouded in mystery, but it is widely speculated that Roma will lend and/or sell a few of the youngins to Sassuolo, in return for EDF and a slight discount on Lorenzo Pellegrini.

Di Francesco is sure to be a bit of a controversial hire, but something tells me those will subside once the tide of nostalgia comes rolling in. We’ll give our detailed thoughts if and when these rumors become facts.

In the meantime, it might be nice to have a manager who looks like a dejected founding member of Weezer.