Roma Look to Aleix Vidal as Winter Reinforcement

With both Alessandro Florenzi and Bruno Peres fit and under contract, it would seem as though Roma are set at right back. After all we’re talking about two players in the prime of their career, one freshly returned from injury and the other only a year or so removed from being the best in the league. However, once you remember that Florenzi is still probably best utilized as a forward and that Peres has seemingly lost all confidence in his former self, Roma’s search for winter reinforcements at the position starts to make a bit of sense.

Not only would a third right back enable Eusebio Di Francesco to play with Florenzi’s role, it would add additional insurance against further Peres decline. Enter Barcelona’s Aleix Vidal, a former Monchi disciple from their time together at Sevilla. Since making the switch to Barca in the summer of 2015, Vidal has found playing time hard to come by, garnering roughly 1,200 league minutes over the past few seasons. Not exactly what he imagined upon signing with Spanish giants, one would presume.

So, with Monchi reportedly being given a directive to reinforce the right back position, it’s only natural that this confluence of player, director, price and opportunity sprang up in sequence. While no exact price has been bandied about, the Corriere dello Sport claims that Roma will make inroads for Vidal this winter.

Prior to making the Camp Nou switch, Vidal looked like one of the game’s more promising full backs, compiling ten goals and assists between the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons with Almeria and Sevilla, respectively. And at only 28-years-old, Vidal would seem to have several seasons of peak production left, making him an intriguing name to watch this winter.