Arsenal transfer news: Future Roma loan deal for Wojciech Szczesny in doubt as club near signing of Alisson

Future in doubt: Szczesny may lose his starting spot to Alisson
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James Benge17 May 2016

There are questions over Wojciech Szczesny’s future at both Arsenal and Roma with the Italian side set to complete the signing of Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson today.

Szczesny has spent the past season on loan in the Italian capital in a bid for first time football having found himself third in the Arsenal pecking order behind Petr Cech and David Ospina.

The Polish goalkeeper enjoyed a season of mostly uninterrupted first-team opportunities at Roma but the same glitches that saw Arsene Wenger eventually lose patience have resurfaced in Szczesny’s game this season.

Though Szczesny has pulled off a string of impressive performances in crucial wins over Juventus and Napoli he has been equally culpable for bizarre goals that have cost Roma dearly, including in a Champions League defeat to BATE Borisov.

Alisson, 23, is expected to complete his medical today having landed at Rome’s Fiumicino airport. He has started five of Brazil’s World Cup qualifiers since October 2015, keeping a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Peru.

A regular at his boyhood club Internacional, Alisson has already made plain his desire to start for Roma and help them secure a first Serie A title since 2001.

He told Globoesporte: "Did I go to play in the Champions League? Yes, it's a dream, and it's one of the reasons I chose Roma - to play in the Champions League and the Italian League.

"Roma haven't won the Scudetto for a long time, I hope to succeed."

Though Roma have baulked at Arsenal’s “unrealistic” valuation of Szczesny they have made clear their desire to bring the goalkeeper back on another year’s loan.

Whether Szczesny would be willing to return if his starting spot were in doubt remains to be seen.

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