Arsenal FC goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is on the verge of signing for Serie A club AS Roma . .
Wojciech Szczesny broke into the Arsenal first team in the 2010-11 season and has been the number one for Arsene Wenger since. However last season he lost his place in the starting line-up, as the goalkeeper was caught smoking in the dressing room, following a 2-1 defeat against Southampton.
Colombian international David Ospina, who was signed at the start of last season after an impressive World Cup, became the new number one for the London club. In the end Szczesny made only 17 starts in the league, although Wenger did persist with him in the FA Cup. The Frenchman still retained a lot of faith on Szczesnya s abilities and even started him in the FA Cup final against Aston Villa.
Despite the presence of Szczesny and Ospina in the squad, Wenger bought Petr Cech from Chelsea this summer and this move has raised a lot of questions about the future of both the goalkeepers. Recent reports linked Szczesny with a move to Eredivisie with Marc Overmars, director of football at Ajax, contacting Arsenal regarding a possible deal.
Szczesny has agreed terms with Roma
The above rumours have faded away now with Italian newspaper II Tempo claiming that AS Roma are leading the race to sign the Polish international. The Serie A club are in the market for a new goalkeeper with Morgan De Sanctis set to hang up his boots at the end of next season. Another Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski is the currently the number two at Stadio Olimpco, but Rudi Garcia is looking for an upgrade.
Roma were initially linked with Argentine international Sergio Romero, who is a free agent currently, but the 28-year-old is set to join Manchester United. This has forced Roma to look elsewhere and they have now set their sights on Szczesny.
II Tempo claims that Szczesny has already agreed terms with the Italian club and Roma are now negotiating with Arsenal over this deal. According to reliable journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, Romaa s sporting director Walter Sabatini has been in contact with the Gunners and he is currently looking to sign Szczesny on a two-year loan deal. But Roma are also eager to have an option to make this move permanent, although Arsenal are not too keen on that as Wenger believes Szczesny could still have a future at the club. The rumours were further fuelled by Szczesny decision to suddenly follow Romaa s official account on Instagram.
Arsenal’s #Szczesny has just started following @OfficialASRoma account on Instagram pic.twitter.com/nxLREPy3Kz
a Omid Zamani (@OmldZamani) July 21, 2015
#Roma, contatto #Sabatini–#Arsenal: piace #Szcz sny per la porta #calciomercato http://t.co/UEHvk0MOBl
a Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) July 21, 2015
Good move for all parties
A loan move to Roma will be good for all parties involved and this will also mean that David Ospina, who has been linked with Everton, wona t have to leave the club after just one season. A two-year loan deal means Szczesny will return to the club when Petr Cech reaches the fag end of his career, with lot of experience of top flight football.
