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  • Roma's defensive makeover to include Benatia, but not Digne
Roma's defensive makeover to include Benatia, but not Digne

Roma's defensive makeover to include Benatia, but not Digne

AS Roma are set to give their back line a major shake-up, according to the Corriere dello Sport. 

Italy's second-biggest sports paper claims that the Giallorossi aren't interested in paying PSG
18 million for the right to keep Lucas Digne. Though he has impressed, the Frenchman's only realistic chance of remaining in Rome is if Nasser Al-Khelaifi's club agrees to loan the 22-year-old out for another year. 

Other players who are unlikely to stay include Norbert Gyomber, Maicon, Emerson and Leandro Castan, who has spent most of his time recovering from surgery, which became necessary when a near-fatal blood vessel malformation was discovered in his brain. 

Centre-back Kostas Manolas has been scouted by a number of clubs, especially in the Premier League. Roma want to do everything possible to avoid another Mehdi Benatia situation - in which a key player is sold at a good price, but whose absence is immediately felt and never really properly addressed - which may mean satisfying Manolas' salary requests. He currently earns
1.5 million a year. 

Ironically, the Giallorossi could well turn to Benatia to fill in the gap. Though he has let his team-mates that he expects to compete next year when Carlo Ancelotti arrives, he has never hidden just how much he misses Italy. 

Outgoing director of sport Walter Sabatini is very interested in left-footed players, with Lyon centre-back Samuel Umtiti a recent target of the Giallorossi's. Another profile the Romanisti like is that of Cristian Ansaldi, Genoa's Argentinian full-back. 

Having played under Luciano Spalletti at Zenit Saint Petersburg, the 29-year-old's agent recently told 
Corrieregiallorosso that they'd "already begun talks with Roma. He likes the idea of moving there, but Genoa could always buy him [he's on loan from Zenit]". 

 

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