During Roberto Mancini's first international break back at the helm of the Italy national team, several story lines are emerging, including some very existential ones in the background.
On the pitch though, there are several positives, and one of them is young Alessandro Romano. The midfielder is set to begin his international career anew with the Azzurri, having switched allegiances after representing Switzerland through the age groups.
Born in Winterthur but having Italian grandparents, Romano's roots allowed him to make the switch, and it could not have arrived at a more opportune time.
Romano joined Cagliari earlier in the summer from Roma, who had roped him in from Winterthur for a deal worth €700,000, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport . And while Gian Piero Gasperini was impressed by what he saw both during Romano's early appearances in a Roma shirt as well as on loan at Spezia last season, Roma were left with a hard decision to make in the summer and had to move players on to generate capital gains and comply with UEFA's financial rules.
And so, Cagliari picked up Romano initially on loan, which they are obligated to make permanent next summer for €6.5 million. While this has helped out Roma in the here and now, the deal included no buy-back or sell-on clauses; given the way both Romano and Cagliari have started this season, it's hard not to think about how much money Roma may end up missing out on.
Romano has quickly become one of the most exciting young players in the league, forming part of a young core at Cagliari that is theratening to upset the established order this season. If the early-season promises materialises into something substantial for the Sardi come May, it's hard to think Romano would stay in Sardinia for long.
Anshuman Joshi | GIFN
