Roma close to landing Castro as first summer signing

With less than a month until the new Serie A season begins, roughly 100 players across the Italian top division remain sidelined from their clubs' plans, weighing heavily on balance sheets rather than contributing on the pitch. Napoli, Juventus and Inter face the most complex situations. Inter must manage Frattesi's declining market value as he seeks regular starting football without success, alongside problems with Asllani and Pavard. Napoli's squad is oversized and needs significant departures; Lukaku's substantial wage at 33 remains an obstacle, as does Lucca. Juventus carries aging contracts and new signings outside their plans, including Arthur, Openda, Douglas Luiz and Nico Gonzalez, who is reportedly unwilling to return to Turin and is also being tracked by Roma. Roma is working to move several players out. Artem Dovbyk's situation appeared complicated due to injury and a high valuation, but the club has found a potential solution in recent days: following Castro's arrival, the Ukrainian could leave on loan to Bologna, pending only his approval. Kumbulla's future also remains to be resolved. Milan faces more contained issues but still needs to find homes for Musah and Loftus-Cheek, while Rafael Leao's future hangs in the balance. Across the rest of Serie A, Atalanta, Bologna and Fiorentina face lighter departures, while Sassuolo and Lazio are among clubs needing to trim their squads before the transfer window closes.

Summerville has completed a transfer to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal after coming close to joining AS Roma. The Dutch winger was one of Roma's headline transfer pursuits this window, but ultimately chose the Saudi Pro League side after Al Hilal's offer of 20 million euros per year swayed the decision. The move marks the end of a protracted saga in the Roma transfer market. Like previous windows that saw pursuits of Sancho and Rios, this season brought similar high-profile chase stories involving Greenwood and Summerville. Summerville's departure represents a significant loss for Roma's attacking options as the club continues its squad-building efforts under Gian Piero Gasperini. Following his official unveiling, Summerville outlined his reasons for the switch. "I watched Al Hilal's matches during the Club World Cup and saw the level of this squad. They were capable of playing against the best teams in the world. It really surprised me," he said. "I heard it's the best team in the Saudi Pro League, so the choice was easy."

Manu Koné remains at the centre of transfer speculation at Roma, with Manchester United pressing to bring the midfielder to Old Trafford following his impressive World Cup performance. No formal offer has yet reached the club, but United's interest is active. The Red Devils have already invested approximately 100 million euros combined in Tielemans and Santo, and must now prioritise outgoings before moving decisively for Koné. Michael Carrick's immediate focus is securing a left winger and identifying a third midfield reinforcement. Mason Mount, the English midfielder, could shift into that third midfield role internally—a solution that might diminish United's pursuit of Koné. Tchouaméni remains United's primary midfield target. The evolving situation at Old Trafford means Roma's chances of retaining Koné depend partly on developments elsewhere in the Premier League's transfer market.