Roma have joined the list of clubs showing an interest in Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Cech is likely to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season after losing his place to Thibaut Courtois and the Serie A club believe they can persuade him to move to Italy.
Roma will need a new first-choice ‘keeper. The current No1, Morgan De Sanctis, will be 38 in March, is out of contract at the end of the season and is unlikely to be offered a new deal.
His understudy, Lukasz Skorupski, is not yet considered ready to play regularly for a team who hope to challenge for the Serie A title and compete in the Champions League. That means a ‘keeper is a priority for Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini and he is believed to have settled on two names: Cech, and Fiorentina’s Brazilian goalkeeper Neto.
Neto is out of contract at the end of the season and, from that point of view, would be a more attractive option. Cech’s does not expire until the summer of 2016.
But Roma are keen to build a team capable of taking on Europe’s strongest sides. Cech has won both the Champions League and the Europa League with Chelsea, as well all three major domestic competitions and, at 32, he still has a number of years at the highest level ahead of him.
Ashley Cole made the move to Roma last summer after his contract at Chelsea ran out but the former England left-back has had a difficult start to life in Serie A and may be allowed to leave the club as early as January.
