Atletico Madrid deal with Roma on the rocks due to player concerns

Atletico Madrid are hoping to be busy this month, as they seek to improve Diego Simeone’s squad for the second half of the season. A new defender is wanted, but in order for someone to be brought in, it could be that someone leaves first – and that someone could be Giacomo Raspadori.

Having only joined in the summer from Napoli, Raspadori has struggled for prominence at Atleti. In total, he has made 14 appearances across all competitions, but only a handful have been from the start. Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth and Antoine Griezmann are very much ahead of him in the pecking order, and with the World Cup coming up in the summer, he wants to play regularly to ensure a place in Italy’s squad – should they qualify via the play-offs.

This has led Raspadori to being linked with a move away. Specifically, Roma have shown interest in his services, and in the last few days, an agreement has been reached for him to join them on an initial loan.

However, Diario AS have now reported that Raspadori has doubts about leaving Atleti. The 25-year-old is happy at the RiyadhAir Metropolitano despite his lack of minutes, whch is why he is not convinced about a mid-season return to Italy.

Raspadori departure would leave Atleti in a difficult spot

It must be noted that Atleti’s reported agreement with Roma would include an obligation to buy if Raspadori were to fulfil a certain number of objectives, but crucially, that money would not arrive until the summer. Los Colchoneros would need to sort a replacement if he leaves, but with no extra funds to do so, there is every chance that they decide to end any chance of a deal being done this month – especially if the player’s doubts were to remain.