Rome Transfer Market: Koné’s Future in the Balance—A Trade Plus 60 Million Has Been Proposed. But Gasperini…

Chelsea is making a last-minute push for Roma midfielder Manu Koné: The Blues want to close the deal by midnight tonight, when the English summer transfer window closes. It’s a race against time that the London club is confident it will win: the Premier League club will capitalize on Roma’s need for an attacking winger to facilitate the deal.

According to reports, Chelsea has offered over 60 million euros, plus winger Jamie Gittens, whom the Giallorossi have long been pursuing. This is reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport. This substantial offer could convince the Rome-based club, which still needs to offload Jamie Leweling’s rejection: Roma had reached an agreement with Stuttgart, but the German forward preferred to stay in the Bundesliga.

With just a few hours left in the transfer window, Roma now finds itself in need of a winger, and Gittens could be the right man for Gasperini: meetings with Chelsea in the coming hours will determine the outcome. However, they’ll need to convince the Giallorossi coach himself, who had firmly backed Koné during a press conference: “He’s not for sale; no one has mentioned it to me, and the club doesn’t agree.”

Koné’s possible departure would simultaneously force Roma to make a signing to bolster the midfield: Youssouf Fofana of Milan and Mandela Keita of Parma are the hottest names, according to *La Rosea*. Rios of Benfica is also still on the shopping list. As for Fofana, the French midfielder is set to leave Milan after coach Ruben Amorim indicated he doesn’t fit into his technical plans. His name is being heavily linked to clubs in the Premier League and La Liga, with Juventus having even tried to put together a trade. Roma could therefore enter the race for the player in earnest, especially if the sale of Koné were to free up the necessary funds.