
Romano sale now a regret as midfielder's value triples at Cagliari
Alessandro Romano has emerged as a surprise of the season's start, drawing comparisons to players such as Matic and Strootman, and threatens to become another in a line of regretted departures alongside Calafiori and Frattesi. Roma sold him to Cagliari this summer for a combined fee of approximately €6.5 million in fixed and bonus payments. The sale generated crucial financial flexibility for the club, allowing Roma to avoid selling a key player before 30 June and freeing up resources after earlier departures of Saud, Baldanzi and Sangaré. Romano is now demonstrating the quality that head coach Gian Piero Gasperini had already identified during the previous season. His market value has tripled to around €15 million and is expected to rise further. Critically, Roma hold no buy-back clause; Cagliari would need to be relegated to Serie B to trigger a repurchase obligation, but the Sardinian club's strong start to the campaign has already eased those concerns. The midfielder has also caught the attention of national team officials—Roberto Mancini called him into the Italy squad. Romano made his Italy debut as a starter on Friday against Belgium, playing at the Stadio Olimpico itself—a twist of fate for the player Roma parted with.


