We are now officially two weeks out from Italy's transfer deadline day, and while it won't garner the same amount of wall to wall coverage as the Premiership's closing day earlier this week, it promises to be no less frenetic. While the big fish landed earlier this week (Romelu Lukaku to Inter), there are still several high profile players looking for new homes and some of Italy's biggest clubs are looking to fill their remaining gaps before the season kicks off in the final week of August.
We'll start off with the most interesting of this new rumor trio, the Mauro Icardi saga, which took on two new, social media fueled twists today.
First up, Number nine...number nine...number nine:
❔ | SHIRT NUMBER@RomeluLukaku9 ⚫️ #WelcomeRomelu #NotForEveryone #ForzaInter pic.twitter.com/C8CSIo2h8l
— Inter (@Inter_en) August 9, 2019
Inter aren't mincing words here (or pictures as it were), giving away Icardi's number nine to their new €75 million striker, Romelu Lukaku. It's one thing to suggest or intimate that you have no use for Icardi, but it's an entirely different thing to give away his number, and in such a public fashion. The writing has been on the wall for Mr. Wanda for several weeks now, so I guess we shouldn't be too surprised, but that sure seems like the proverbial nail in the coffin for Icardi's Inter career.
And where he goes next remains anyone's guess, but that didn't stop another former Ex-Inter player from chiming in on Icardi's future, our very own Juan Jesus:
I'm not entirely sure what Icardi was going for here with that beret, but you'll notice Juan dropping a “Ti aspetto” two comments down, luring Icardi to Roma with a subtle I'm waiting. While all in good fun and extremely unlikely to persuade Icardi to move to Roma, Juan's comments do seem indicative of this rumor gaining traction with the people who actually matter, the players.
Elsewhere, Roma seem to have received an interesting offer from their former Champions League tormentor, Manchester United:
Roma offered Manchester United's Alexis Sanchez https://t.co/wGbLJwRlCC
— RomaPress (@ASRomaPress) August 9, 2019
According to this rumor, which has been verified by John Solano/Roma Press, United have offered Alexis to Roma and are even willing to float a substantial portion of his €20 million net salary. Even with those subsidies, this would still be a hefty investment from Roma, and in a 30-year-old attacker who has struggled mightily since moving to United no less. Sanchez, of course, got his European career started in Italy, playing three seasons with Udinese before moving to Barcelona, and is still an incredibly skilled and versatile player, so he certainly wouldn't be the worst name we've discussed in these spaces over the past few months.
At the other end of the spectrum, Roma are once again looking to profit off a failed Juventus transfer, hoping to land Daniele Rugani on loan after his move to England (Arsenal and Wolves were interested) couldn't be completed and/or collapsed before the transfer window closed. With no discernible role in Juve's backline, Roma are reportedly attempting to replicate the deal that nearly sent Rugani abroad: a two-year loan with an obligation to buy set for 2021.
If the terms are favorable, it could certainly be a gamble worth taking; many players have gone on to have fine careers after floundering at mega clubs and perhaps throwing him into the mix with Gianluca Mancini and Federico Fazio could rejuvenate his once promising career.
There are only two weeks remaining before the season begins and Roma still needs to sort out their striker situation, bring in another centerback and potentially add another winger to the mix—it won’t be a quiet two weeks, that's the only thing we can promise.