Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini may be on his way out of the club this summer with Barcelona and Liverpool credited with an interest.
The 24-year-old has cemented his place in the Serie A midfield since returning to the Stadio Olimpico in 2017. Last season he enjoyed the best goal-scoring campaign of his career – scoring 11 goals in all competitions – although his efforts were not enough to help the club to secure Champions League football.
Pellegrini’s fine form has attracted admiring eyes from some of Europe’s best sides, and Mundo Deportivo reports that both Barcelona and Liverpool have both given up their interest in acquiring his services.
An agreement is made all the more possible by Pellegrini only having one year left to run on his current contract, although the situation is made a little more complex by the fact that Serie A side Atalanta have the opportunity to buy him for a fee of only € 20m ( £ 17.2m).
Should Gian Piero Gasperini’s side choose to pay the agreed price, Barça and Liverpool’s interest is likely to prove pointless, but that has not stopped them from completing a deal.
Pellegrini has a € 30 million (£ 25.8 million) release clause in his contract, although Barcelona do not want to offer such a large sum given their current financial situation and the fact that the player will be free to discuss his future with other clubs next January.
Lorenzo Pellegrini is being chased by a number of clubs / Marco Luzzani / Getty Images
Ronald Koeman is in desperate need of reinforcements in midfield with Miralem Pjanic being announced to be on his way out of the club just a year after arriving from Juventus.
Barcelona had hoped to welcome Georginio Wijnaldum to Camp Nou, although their plans were thwarted when Paris Saint-Germain made a late attempt to secure the signing of the former Liverpool man.
Wijnaldum’s departure from Anfield means that Jurgen Klopp also hopes to add his midfielder this summer, but it remains to be seen whether the Reds will dive into the transfer market or put confidence in the youth Curtis Jones and injured duo Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita when they seem to cope with the Dutchman’s loss.
