As Raspadori Hesitates, Roma Go Full Throttle For Dutch Forward In The EPL

So far, it is proving to be a disappointing window for Italian Serie A side, AS Roma in the transfer market as another bad news stares them in the face in their pursuit of attacking reinforcements for their team but they seems to have taken it in their stride and moved forward to other targets.

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Following the recent meeting between the manager, Gian Piero Gasperini and the club owner recently, the management has moved decisively in their pursuit of strikers as demanded by the former Atalanta coach but everything is not going according to plan at the moment.

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For tthe club and manager, the ideal target would have been Dutch forward, Joshua Zirkzee but Manchester United have made it clear that the player is not leaving, especially after they sacked Ruben Amorim and this has now forced Roma towards Italian s

Despite reaching an agreement with Atletico Madrid on a loan move over him, the player has now reportedly decided against joining the Giallorossi this winter even after reaching an agreement with the club over a €4m per year salary as he would rather wait for his former club Napoli.

With this new development, the capital city club now have to look elsewhere and they seems to have found two new attackers that are willing to join the club, but for now, they have an immediate concern with an upcoming match while dealing with an injury crisis upfront.

Consequently, Gasperini will now have to shuffle his pack for Tuesday’s Coppa Italia clash against Torino as both Evan Ferguson and Artem Dovbyk are expected to be unavailable through injury. Ferguson suffered an impact blow to his back during Roma’s 2-0 victory over Sassuolo and is now facing a brief spell on the sidelines.

It remains to be seen whether he will be fit enough to feature in Serie A over the weekend, but it is expected that he will not be able to play against Torino in the Coppa Italia round of 16 on Tuesday evening according to Sky Sport Italia but it doesn’t stop there for the club.

Fellow centre-forward, Dovbyk was also forced to sit out of the Sassuolo victory due to a hamstring injury, which is also expected to keep him out of action against the Granata and this means that Gasperini is effectively forced to deploy a false nine for this upcoming encounter.

Roma have also been on the hunt for new attacking reinforcements during the January transfer window as Zirkzee and Raspadori have been dubbed the ‘favourites’ for the Giallorossi this month, however, reports now have it that Robinio Vaz and Donyell Malen are the real deal.

Reports from Sky Sport Italia claim that Roma and Aston Villa have an agreement in principle in place over a January deal for Malen and according to the report, there is already an agreement in principle in place over a loan deal with a potential option to buy for a fee in the region of €25m-€30m.

The Giallorossi still need approval from the player himself but that might not be difficult as the Netherlands international is in need of more playing time. The 26-year-old has four goals from 21 appearances in the Premier League this season, but only five of those outings have come as a starter.

He also has three goals from six appearances in the Europa League to his name in 2025-26 and Roma have already signed one attacker on loan from Aston Villa this season: Leon Bailey, who has struggled with injuries since moving to the Stadio Olimpico over the summer.

Hence, he has been limited to just 181 minutes of Serie A football across seven league appearances and is part of the reason why Roma and Gasperini are so keen to bring in new attackers this month even if the path towards Raspadori is not fully closed, the club is moving forward with their plans regardless.

As for Vaz, the France youth international has become a regular off the bench for Roberto De Zerbi’s side in Ligue 1 this season and he’s currently averaging a league goal every 93 minutes with four goals to his name from 373 minutes so far in 2025-26.

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According to Monday’s reports, Roma and Marseille are still discussing the formula of the deal, whether that be a loan with an option to buy, a loan with an obligation to buy, or even a potential permanent deal in January but it is expected to cost somewhere in the region of €25m including a potential buy option.

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