Report: Roma Want Luis Campos for DS Role

Dealing in transfer rumors is a notoriously fickle business. What seems like a certainty on Monday morning can completely dissolve by Tuesday afternoon, sometimes Saturday's business becomes irrelevant by Sunday morning, and every so often things get so bleak that a player can board a plane to Rome only to see the transfer disappear in the Jetstream.

But, despite all of that, where there is smoke, there is often fire. And these rules apply to the equally cloak and dagger world of recruiting a Director of Sport; a position Roma have been trying to fill (actively and no so actively) over the past several months.

Much like Paulo Fonseca on the manager's bench, Gianluca Petrachi wasn't Roma's first choice for the Director or Sport role that Monchi nearly burned to the ground. But thanks to a series of shrewd loan deals (Smalling, Mkhitaryan), a couple of semi-large purchases (Gianluca Mancini, Jordan Veretout), an indirect swap or two (Manolas for Diawara) and an eye for young talent (Carles Pérez, Roger Ibañez), Petrachi actually set the club up for success despite his bombastic ways.

But...Petrachi burned his Roma bridges in the most dramatic, George Costanza-style ever, reportedly bursting into the locker room at half-time to voice his displeasure with the squad and engaging in a series of aggressive texting threads with former club owner James Pallotta.

All of which, in grand Roma fashion, has put the Giallorossi and their new owners in the market for a new Director of Sport. And over the past several months, we've ran through a host of names ranging from sentimental favorites like Morgan De Sanctis and Nicolas Burdisso to more en vogue names like Ralf Rangnick.

All of those names come with certain qualifications and advantages, but according to Alfredo Pedulla of the Gazzetta dello Sport, Roma have their heart seat on Lille's Luis Campos:

According to Alfredo Pedulla, while Campos has yet to say yes to Roma, the Friedkin Group has reportedly tabbed the 56-year-old Portuguese administrator as the man to lead the Giallorossi into the future and will soon—if they haven't already—proffer Campos a formal offer.

Campos, who started managing at all of 28-years-old, caught his first big administrative break serving as a Real Madrid scout between 2012 and 2013, a move he parlayed into a director role with Monaco (2013-2016) and then Lille (2016-present). During his time as a director, Campos ran Monaco's lavish spending sprees of the mid to late 2010s (Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho) and spun off several gems like Bernardo Silva, Anthony Martial, Thomas Lemar and Nicolas Pepe for massive profits over the past few summers.

Reportedly interested in a new challenge, Campos may be intrigued by Roma's latest project, one that seems/feels more deliberate and thoughtful than all the Roma 2.0s we've endured over the past several years.

With roughly six weeks before the next transfer window and Roma already connected to a few big names, it's imperative that Roma find the leader for the next phase of the club's development.

The Friedkins, based on their simple presence alone, have proven to be involved and dedicated owners, and with the stadium seemingly inching closer, things may finally be coming together for the Giallorossi.

A man with Campos’ resume could be the ideal guide for Roma's path to the top.