Gian Piero Gasperini Drops Bleak Roma Transfer Bombshell After Giacomo Raspadori Snub

Gian Piero Gasperini appeared to send a transfer warning to Roma after missing out on Giacomo Raspadori.

Roma Must Decide Transfer Approach, Gasperini Warns

Raspadori will join Atalanta imminently from Atletico Madrid after turning down the Giallorossi’s advances.

Gasperini, keen to strengthen his frontline this month, had made the striker one of his first-choice targets and recently pushed the club to splash the cash after holding talks with Ryan Friedkin.

There was rapid progress after the meeting, with Robinio Vaz joining from Marseille. A move for Aston Villa’s Donyell Malen is also all but done, and the ace could arrive in Roma for his medical as early as Wednesday.

Vaz was greeted by supporters after touching down at Ciampino airport and will shortly undergo his own fitness checks before signing a contract until 2030. The deal is worth around €25million, including bonuses.

Negotiations for Malen, meanwhile, are quickly advancing. Roma are ahead of Atletico Madrid in the race for the 26-year-old after offering a loan deal worth €2m, with a mandatory buyout clause of €25m included.

However, not even these imminent switches look enough to dispel Gasperini’s doubts.

Speaking after the defeat by Torino in the Coppa Italia, he appeared to tell the club to pick a direction, urging them to either spend money on experienced targets or invest their time in bringing through youngsters.

Referencing Vaz’s arrival, Gasperini said: “If the objective is to develop young players, that’s fine, as long as everything is clear. Let’s also play the sixteen-year-olds and even the Primavera, it’s not a problem.”

Roma’s Double Striker Blow

Roma senior advisor Claudio Ranieri openly admitted that Raspadori had no interest in joining the Giallorossi.

He told reporters on Tuesday night: “Raspadori never wanted to talk to us. I don’t know if it was because of the loan deal or for other reasons. So we realised the boy wasn’t interested, so we left it alone.”

Meanwhile, as reported by FootItalia, Gasperini is growing concerned over Paulo Dybala’s contract standoff.

Dybala has entered the final six months of his deal and talks over an extension have not progressed.

This is despite the 32-year-old making 19 appearances across all competitions this season.

Gasperini is eager for a resolution, but Dybala must first accept a significant pay cut to his €12.9m a year wages.

Youngster Antonio Arena scored on his debut against Torino and represents a potential replacement, but not even this is likely to improve Gasperini’s bleak outlook. Only time – and money – will achieve that.