The summer window may be winding down in some quarters, but the machinery of high stakes European dealings shows no signs of slowing. Word reaches us...
The summer window may be winding down in some quarters, but the machinery of high stakes European dealings shows no signs of slowing. Word reaches us from GoalZaza that Crysencio Summerville's representatives are already boots on the ground in the Italian capital. The presence of his agents in Rome is a clear signal of intent from the Giallorossi, and it raises a tantalising question for the player: does the allure of Serie A outweigh the concrete offer from West LondonChelsea's co. owner is currently holding two separate proposals from Roma on his desk. This is not a simple case of a club sniffing around a player with an agent playing games. The communication lines are live, the paperwork is being shuffled, and the player's camp has physically relocated to the negotiating theatre. For Summerville, a winger whose low centre of gravity and sharp transitional play lit up the Championship last term, this represents a fork in the road. One path leads to the tactical rigidity of Italian football where space is a premium commodity. The other keeps him in the familiar rhythm of English football, albeit with the gargantuan task of breaking into a bloated Chelsea squad.You have to wonder what the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge really think of the player. Is he a project to be loaned out and sold for profit, or does someone in the boardroom see genuine first team minutes The fact that Roma are pushing hard suggests they see the Dutchman as a ready made asset for their rebuild. Danièle De Rossi is looking for players who can beat a man in tight spaces, who offer that burst of pace in the final third. Summerville fits that profile like a glove. But Chelsea, for all their squad chaos, still hold the cards. They can demand a premium or they can stand firm. The danger is they let another one slip through their fingers for the sake of a few million euros, a story we have read far too often in recent windows.For the player himself, the clock is ticking. His agents did not fly to Rome to admire the architecture. They are there to get a deal done. If Chelsea cannot decide which offer to accept or reject, they risk the player agitating for a move. And once an agent sets up camp in a foreign city, the momentum shifts decisively towards the exit door. This one is far from settled, but make no mistake: the Geppetto strings are being pulled, and a tug of war is brewing between the eternal city and the noisy chaos of West London.
