Although not as intensely debated as Roma's quest for their next striker, the club has been connected to a host of goalkeepers over the past several months. From Hugo Lloris to Salvatore Sirigu to Petr Cech to Samir Handanovic, there was seemingly no shortage of shot stoppers from which to choose. With Morgan De Sanctis nearly ready for the stud farm and Lukasz Skorupski in need of further seasoning, Walter Sabatini had apparently deemed it necessary to recruit a new keeper, one preferably in his late twenties to early thirties.
While Lloris and Sirigu were always long shots on the transfer market, and Cech too expensive even without the associated transfer fees, Roma has once again gone the cheap route, hoping Sampdoria second choice and would be Argentine hero, Sergio Romero, can recapture his form from last summer's World Cup. Hmm, something about this seems eerily familiar, as if we've seen this movie before, albeit subtitled in Dutch.
Nevertheless, para gratis, Roma have themselves a new keeper, a South American one at that. Romero, you may recall, was fantastic for Argentina in last year's World Cup, helping guide the Biancocelesti to the final. Before falling to Ze Germans, Romero saved two penalties in Argentina's semi-final match against the Dutch, denying Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder in route Argentina's 4-2 victory.
Unfortunately, his success at the international level didn't translate at, of all places, Sampdoria, where he made only 11 appearances in all competitions. Romero brings a commanding physical presence to the penalty area, where his 6'4" frame helps repel the most ardent of aerial attackers.
While we await official confirmation, given his poor club record, we're left to ask who exactly he's replacing, De Sanctis or Skorupski?
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