Premier League clubs to raid financially-aching AS Roma this summer?

AS Roma are reportedly struggling financially, which means they might be forced to sell some of their stars, with Premier League clubs ready to pounce.

It’s a tough time period for everyone, even the multi-million valued European football clubs, who have been without matchday revenue and broadcasting revenue as well for about 2 months now. Of course, some are feeling the effects worse than others, with clubs in lower divisions that rely almost solely on matchday revenue suffering the most.

However, even some top clubs are struggling, especially those with pre-existing financial issues. Italian club AS Roma, one of the biggest in the country, is one of these aforementioned struggling teams.

Football Italia has stated that Roma has shown a whopping €278.5 million loss on their annual accounts, which has put massive financial pressure on the club.

One of Roma’s prized possessions, Italian attacking midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo, is reportedly one of the players set to hit the market to give the club some breathing room. Zaniolo is one of the most highly-touted youngsters on the planet, and even with all clubs struggling with money right now, there is still sure to be some significant interest from some of the top dogs in European football.

When it comes to the Premier League, Liverpool are reportedly admirers of the Italian international, who recently suffered an awful ACL injury that was set to keep him out of a Euro 2020 appearance. Of course, that has all changed with the tournament being delayed. While he is valued at €80 million by Roma, he will likely be allowed to leave for significantly less.

Liverpool have a strong relationship with AS Roma, as some of their recent high-profile signings prove (Mohamed Salah in 2017, Alisson in 2018, both signed from Roma).

Manchester United and Juventus have also previously been linked with Zaniolo, however.

Lorenzo Pellegrini and Cengiz Under, 2 other highly-touted young players, are also set to be shopped around. Both players have been linked with Arsenal in the past, and especially with the Gunners’ lack of attacking inspiration from midfield these days, Pellegrini might be a perfect candidate to fill the Aaron Ramsey-shaped hole in the middle of the park.

Pellegrini’s release clause currently stands at €30 million.

It’s possible that we see 1 or 2 of these players in the Premier League next year, but it still seems so difficult to imagine any big transfers happening this summer, under the current circumstances. These clubs are worth billions, however, so if they are really convinced by a player, they can probably still stump up the cash.