Official: Roma Signs Jonathan Silva from Sporting CP

Say this much for Roma, when they let someone go they don’t waste much time replacing them. Following yesterday’s €20 million sale of Emerson Palmieri to Chelsea, Roma immediately snatched up his nominal replacement in the form of 23-year-old Argentine full back Jonathan Silva, most recently of Sporting CP.

See, told ya. There’s the de rigueur awkward handshake photo to prove it. Silva comes to Roma on a reported €6 million deal. Upon landing in Rome, Silva went immediately to the Villa Stuart medical clinic because HE HAD KNEE SURGERY IN NOVEMBER!

Yes, Monchi’s grand plan to replace one eminently talented 23-year-old fullback coming off a knee injury is purchase another, lesser quality 23-year-old fullback coming off a knee injury, and by coming off, we mean coming off. Silva only had surgery two months ago; I have leftovers in my fridge older than that.

Listen, I don’t know this kid from a hole in the wall, so he may very well prove to be a solid purchase, but he has less than 1,500 minutes of experience in Europe, and absolutely zero in one of the major five leagues, and is, what, eight weeks out of surgery and we’re supposed to expect this kid to contribute anything other than carbon dioxide to this club?

I know Monchi is supposedly a genius at scouting young talent, but it’s hard to get excited about this move. Silva offers nothing in the immediate sense, and it heaps further pressure upon Aleksandar Kolarov to not only stay fit, but to perform week in and week out with virtually no respite coming off the bench, which would be fine if the club employed a manager who didn’t look at a three man backline like a dog seeing it’s first squirrel, but they don’t, so the offense will continue to flow through Kolarov’s 32-year-old legs.

So, let’s welcome Jonathan Silva to the club. If all goes according to plan, he will one day fulfill his dream of playing in the Premiership, too.