Patrick Rees
Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United are interested in signing AS Roma’s 21-year-old midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini in the January transfer window but face a potential threat from the likes of fellow Premier League rivals, Chelsea and Manchester City.
According to the Daily Mirror, the aforementioned clubs see Pellegrini as one of the best midfield targets and the fact that he has a mere £21m release clause in his contract makes him quite an attractive option. Manchester United, alongside their Premier League rivals, are ‘desperately’ trying to get the midfielder but Roma, on their part, have no intentions of sanctioning any sale.
Also, in terms of the January transfer window, AS Roma sporting director Monchi has already quoted that he does not really expect too much transfer activity at the Stadio Olimpico in the January window.
“I do not think we’ll have to look for solutions outside, because I think the solutions are inside the team,” Monchi was quoted by Calciomercato.
Meanwhile, as things stand for Pellegrini, the midfielder was born in Rome and joined Roma’s youth ranks at the tender age of 9. He made his senior debut for the capital club at the age of 18 under then manager Rudi Garcia before moving to Sassuolo.
Roma, in the deal, acted smart and included a buy-back option in his contract. Two seasons on with The Black and Greens, Roma exercised the £9million buy-back clause and Pellegrini made his move back to Rome, signing a five-year deal with the club.
The midfielder has made 21 appearances in all competitions for the club who sit 5th on the Serie A log, and has scored twice. Furthermore, Pellegrini’s link with the Devils has coincided with that of Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil. The German, whose current Arsenal contract expires at the season, is yet to put pen to the papers and just like his teammate Alexis Sanchez, his departure is looking quite evident.
However, Ozil’s availability on a free transfer makes him one of the best options for other suitors as well and the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have already been credited with an interest. It now remains to be seen whether Manchester United do make an approach for any of their targets or not.
