“Roma is not a supermarket,” said Monchi, “Roma is a team that will represent Italy in Europe.” The club’s Sporting Director had uttered those first five words repeatedly since he arrived from Sevilla, the phrase becoming something of a mantra as he downplayed the number of sales made by the Italian side over the last few years. Yet, even as the high profile departures continued last summer as Mohamed Salah and Antonio Rudiger headed for the exit, the Spanish official’s second sentence certainly proved to be true.
As 2017/18 got underway, few expected the Giallorossi to enjoy any tangible success after losing their long-term Captain Francesco Totti and their Coach Luciano Spalletti, as well as the team’s best defender (Rudiger) and attacking player (Salah). But even as those key figures moved on, Monchi had worked to rebuild the side, and – led by new boss Eusebio Di Francesco – Roma reached the Champions League semifinals while finishing third in Serie A.
Just as he had in Andalucia, Monchi had his replacements in place long before agreeing to the sales. Wojciech Szczęsny had been the best goalkeeper in Italy in 2016/17, yet he was allowed to leave as the club put their faith in Alisson Becker, rewarded by a sensational campaign from the Brazil international. Midfielder Leandro Paredes was sold to Zenit, but the void was filled by homegrown talent Lorenzo Pellegrini, while left-back Emerson Palmieri joined Chelsea for €20 million (€9m in bonuses) because Aleksandar Kolarov – a €5m signing from Manchester City – had proven to be far more effective.
This has always been Monchi’s approach, selling players at peak value while replacing them with an equally effective but far cheaper replacement, the team barely suffering as a result and the talent level constantly maintained. As a result of his modus operandi, Roma are definitely a team to watch closely throughout this summer, and the 49-year-old has certainly been busy since the season came to a close.
While everyone else has been happily enjoying the World Cup, he has been taking care of business. Outstanding backup goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski has been sold to Bologna, who sent reliable veteran Antonio Mirante – their Captain and regular first choice ‘keeper – plus €5 million to the Italian capital, Monchi making a tidy profit while ensuring Alisson has a reliable deputy. After years of speculation, Radja Nainggolan was finally sold, reunited with Spalletti at Inter for a price of €24 million as well as the rights to former Newcastle full-back Davide Santon and promising youngster Nicolò Zaniolo.
While the quality of the Belgian midfielder cannot be debated, this was arguably the last summer he could’ve been sold at such a high price, and of course his replacement has already been secured. At just 23, Bryan Cristante is seven years younger than Nainggolan, and the deal to bring him from Atalanta will cost a maximum of €25 million even if all the performance related bonuses are paid.
The AC Milan youth product enjoyed a breakout campaign last term, scoring 12 goals while gaining valuable experience in the Europa League. That he did so while making 2.1 tackles, 0.7 interceptions and 50.2 passes per game is impressive, while the fact he recorded higher figures than Nainggolan (1.7 tackles, 0.6 interceptions and 41.6 passes) in those respective categories is unquestionably noteworthy.
Roma have also secured a deal for 21-year-old Croatian midfielder Ante Coric of Dinamo Zagreb, paying €6 million for a technically gifted midfielder Monchi labelled “one of the emerging talents of European football.” He will be joined by highly coveted Ajax striker Justin Kluivert, a player many expect to blossom into a truly exceptional goal scorer over the next few years and already a full international with Netherlands.
The latest arrival is Javier Pastore of PSG, a creative genius who had experience of Serie A with Palermo before moving to France and who returns to the peninsula in search of regular playing time after becoming an overqualified backup in Ligue 1. “The reasons are simple, this is a great team which is growing a lot,” he told reporters at a press conference to announce the €25 million switch.
“Monchi and I have been talking for a couple of months, and the choice was easy. It’s a great team, a great city and I wanted to go back to Italy. I’m very pleased, it makes me want to do well, to start being great again this season. The most beautiful thing about football is the fans who get behind the players. I’ve come to a city where there’s a lot of support.”
He most certainly has, and it will be interesting to see how Di Francesco moulds the new arrivals into his system as Roma continue to be a major force on the Italian football landscape. They are clearly not just “a supermarket” as – thanks to Monchi’s M.O. – Roma are just a superbly run football club.
