Roma director Tiago Pinto will not say if he is going to meet Atalanta tomorrow for Duvan Zapata, as ‘it is too early to say what could happen’ in the transfer rush for strikers.
They open their campaign today against Salernitana at the Stadio Olimpico at 17.30 UK time (16.30 GMT).
Duvan Zapata starts for Atalanta this evening, but there are reports Roma will meet with La Dea tomorrow to discuss the final details of a €6m transfer. Is that true?
“The meeting we have today is with Salernitana. It is true we have not yet been able to sign a striker who can be an alternative to Andrea, but we have faith they will do their best and try to win the game,” Tiago Pinto told DAZN.
“There are 12 days to the end of the transfer window, it is early to say what could happen. I have experienced many different things this summer, so I am unable to make any predictions.”
When asked if he could say that the main objective for Roma this season is qualification for the Champions League, Tiago Pinto could not be firm on that either.
“The objective now is to beat Salernitana. As I said, there is a long way to go, there are other transfer markets that close on September 15. At the opportune moment, I will say what I need to say, you know that I never hold back, but this is not the time.”
The window that does not close until mid-September is in the Saudi Pro League, which has skewed the entire transfer market around Europe with extraordinary fees and salaries that Serie A simply cannot compete with.