AS Roma wait on Soulé as Koné turns down Atlético Madrid and holds out for Premier League

AS Roma remain in a race against time, needing to generate at least €50m-€60m in capital gains before the end of June. The two leading candidates to leave are still Matías Soulé and Manu Koné - the players who, on their own, could solve the club’s capital-gains problem and remove the risk of UEFA sanctions.

Soulé is still waiting to see whether a concrete move comes from the Premier League, or alternatively from the Bundesliga, where he is admired by Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart. For now, he is not considering interest from Saudi Arabia, despite Al Ahli and Al Ittihad making enquiries to understand his situation.

With the Argentine still on standby, the player sacrificed could therefore be Koné.

According to Il Messaggero, the French midfielder recently turned down Atlético Madrid, despite the Spanish club being ready to put €45m on the table for Roma.

Koné’s position is clear: he wants to wait for a move from one of the interested Premier League clubs, namely Arsenal and Chelsea.

A helping hand could come from José Mourinho. The Special One is pushing to take Enzo Fernández from Chelsea to Real Madrid. If that move were to materialise, Chelsea would have both the need and the financial room to make a serious push for Manu Koné.