Report: Roma needed to sell Dzeko or Manolas if Strootman didn't leave
Roma fans have struggled to accept this move, with Radja Nainggolan also leaving by the front door in the summer, but it appears that the Giallorossi didn’t have much of a choice.
Despite sporting director Monchi claiming that those players who left did so “because they wanted to”, the truth may be slightly more complicated. Luca Valdiserri of the Corriere della Sera explains that, had the Dutchman not left, one other star would have had been on the plane out of Fiumicino.
The two big names? Those of Edin Dzeko - who was nearly sold in winter to Chelsea before eventually choosing to remain - and Kostas Manolas, a player who is liked in England and Russia, among others.
It turns out that the two have the most offers from overseas, and it is likely that one of the two would have had to pack his bags had the Strootman move not occurred.
This is not unusual for Roma, who have basically sold a big name almost every summer in recent years: from Marquinhos to Mehdi Benatia, Mo Salah, Nainggolan and Toni Rudiger, one can understand how hard it has been for the Lupa to build a winner.