Tag: AS Roma

The story behind the Special One’s interest - Mourinho finally welcomes Azmoun at Roma

Azmoun is set to join the Giallorossi from Bayer Leverkusen. He’s been a long-time target for Mourinho who had already tried to sign the 28-year-old in 2021, during his first season at the Stadio Olimpico.

Mourinho and Roma’s interest was so evident that Azmoun’s at-the-time club Zenit jokingly warned the Special One off their striker. The Iran international eventually joined Bayer Leverkusen the following summer.

Given Zenit’s reluctance to sell Azmun in 2021, Roma eventually signed Shomurodov from Genoa but the Uzbekistan forward didn’t live up to expectations at the Stadio Olimpico scoring just six goals in 48 games and joining Spezia and Cagliari on loan.

Mou and Azmoun crossed paths this past May during a Europa League semifinal between Roma and Bayer Leverkusen when the Special One hugged the striker before his introduction from the bench in the second half.

Roma needed a new center forward this summer following Tammy Abraham’s knee injury in the last Serie A game of 2022-23. At the moment, Andrea Belotti, scorer of a brace in the first league game of 2023-24, is the only center forward available for Mourinho.

Azmoun has arrived in Rome to undergo his medical tests, and his transfer is expected to be made official soon.

The Iranian forward will join the Capital giants on an initial loan with an option to buy for €13 million.

The Giallorossi are looking to add another centre-forward to their ranks before the end of the transfer window, with Lukaku’s name cropping up in recent times.

Jose Mourinho, who has managed Lukaku at both Chelsea and Manchester United, has indicated that the Belgium international could join alongside Sardar Azmoun.

When asked about Roma’s move for Lukaku, Mourinho said on Friday: "I struggle to talk about Azmoun, let alone talk about Lukaku who is still a Chelsea player."

AZMOUN LAND IN ROME AHEAD OF AS ROMA SWITCH

Sardar Azmoun is set to join Roma from Bayer Leverkusen.

The capital club has finalized a deal for the Iran international who is expected to join the Giallorossi on loan from Leverkusen after two underwhelming seasons in the Bundesliga.

According to Filippo Biafora of Il Tempo, Azmoun has already boarded a flight to Rome and landed in Ciampino airport at 20h00 local time.

The 28-year-old striker will undergo his medical with Roma tomorrow morning (Friday) before signing his contract with the Italian side.

Roma will have a buy option on Azmoun which will amount to around €13 million.

Roma’s transfer market escapades this season can be best described as a total slog. While certain moves happened in a flash, Roma’s hunt for a second striker to complement Andrea Belotti has hit snag after snag, and when Gian Piero Gasperini reportedly blocked Duvan Zapata’s move to Roma, it seemed like Roma might never get their striker.

Well, the hunt for a new striker is over.

Completely out of the blue, Serie A journalists started reporting this morning that instead of continuing to push for Duvan Zapata, Tiago Pinto decided to go in a different direction: signing Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun from Bayer Leverkusen and fulfilling one of José Mourinho’s original requests when he signed with Roma back in 2021.

Of course, back in 2021, Roma was unable to sign Azmoun and instead went to Eldor Shomurodov, while after his near-move to Roma, Azmoun continued with Zenit for one more season before moving to Leverkusen in the summer of 2022. Now, with both Roma and Azmoun unsatisfied with their current situations, it looks as if the Iranian Messi will truly be wearing a Roma kit.

Azmoun comes to Roma on an inexpensive loan with an option deal (what else), with that option valued at somewhere between €10 and €12 million. As opposed to the rumored Zapata deal, which Atalanta reportedly was finally going to accept this morning until Pinto decided to sign Azmoun, bringing in Azmoun on an inexpensive loan with an option likely leaves the door open for the Giallorossi to push hard for a January signing of Marcos Leonardo. A loan signing also makes Roma’s depth chart at striker seem slightly more manageable if Marcos Leonardo is signed, Belotti rediscovers his form, and Tammy Abraham returns from injury.

There are some hitches that prevent this move from being a perfect transfer, despite Roma seeming to beat out AC Milan for the striker’s signature. First is the simple matter that Azmoun is reportedly injured in the short term, with a reported return date of early September. That injury might make him feel right at home with Roma, but it doesn’t solve the immediate problems the Giallorossi are facing in terms of striker depth.

Perhaps more concerning is that Azmoun will undoubtedly be called up by the Iranian National Team for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, which takes place between January 12 and February 10 of 2024. Is it really worthwhile to bring in a striker on loan who’s unavailable right now and is almost guaranteed to be unavailable for an entire month later in the season?

This rumor seems to becoming reality incredibly fast, so expect more analysis on the Sardar Azmoun front once he’s landed in Rome. Keep an eye out on the Marcos Leonardo transfer saga as well, as reports indicate that Manchester United might be trying to swoop in on Roma’s pre-agreement with Santos. So that’s fun.

Arsenal interested in highly rated forward Azmoun as Lacazette replacement

Arsenal are eyeing Zenit St Petersburg forward Sardar Azmoun.

Onze Mundial says the Gunners have identified Zenit St Petersburg forward Sardar Azmoun as a potential Alexandre Lacazette replacement.

Lacazette is wanted by a host of top European clubs, including LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid. The 30-year-old's contract expires next June, meaning a pre-contract can be arranged from January.

And Zenit's Azmoun - dubbed the 'Iranian Lionel Messi' - is on the Gunners' list to replace the Frenchman.

They are not the first Premier League side to be linked with his services. Azmoun revealed last month that he had rejected Tottenham during the summer. On a potential transfer, he said: “I never said that I was leaving Zenit. The media wrote that I was undergoing a medical examination and agreed on everything with a certain team. I have a contract, even if I wanted to leave, the club will not allow it. It was the media that sent me to another team." “I had offers from Lyon, Roma, Bayer [Leverkusen], and Tottenham. But all the proposals were rejected, this year I will not move anywhere.”

The Iranian forward impressively scored 19 goals in 29 appearances for the Russian club last season. Currently, on duty with his national team playing in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers.

Italian media: Roma loses Azmoun to Bayer Leverkusen!

According to some Italian media, Azmoun is heading towards the Bundesliga. The Team Melli central forward who opened his scoring this season with a goal this weekend is the center of much speculation about his immediate future. The player himself is tight-lipped so is the Russian club, but that does not prevent daily news about his possible transfer out of Zenit. footballItalia.net has published the following report today: Roma are expected to miss out on Zenit St Petersburg center-forward Sardar Azmoun, as Bayer Leverkusen are closing on a deal. The Giallorossi and Germans were both interested in the 26-year-old Iran international. His contract with Zenit is due to expire in June 2022 and he seems ready to move on for a new experience. According to Tuttomercatoweb, Roma are not going to pursue Azmoun, as he has already pledged his future to Bayer Leverkusen. The Bundesliga outfit still needs to agree terms with Zenit, who are asking for circa €20m. However, they are expected to whittle it down and probably get closer to that fee than Roma was prepared to pay. Azmoun has 34 goals in just 52 senior caps for Iran, playing his club football for Rubin Kazan, Rostov and since February 2019 at Zenit. He found the net 19 times in 29 competitive games for Zenit St Petersburg last season, as well as setting up six goals for his teammates.

Iran - Bosnia; Without key players.

The national teams of Iran and Bosnia will face off in an international friendly match this evening in Sarajevo. Both teams will be without key players in the lineup.

The match is the first since that memorial encounter in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The match (Thursday) at 20:30 Tehran time (18:00 local time) at Asim Farhatovic Stadium is held on FIFA Day allowing many countries the chance to test their players. For many football fans, this match is a reminder of the one between the two teams in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the game ended with a score of 3 - 1 in favor of the European rival, but in the end, neither team managed to advance from the group.

In the latest FIFA rankings, Iran is 29th while Bosnia-Herzegovina is 51st. Continentally, Iran is the second-ranked team in Asia while and Bosnia is ranked 30th in Europe. The most crucial point of this game is the absence of many Bosnian key players either enforced due to injuries but mainly due to an attempt by the coach to give more opportunities to domestic young players and several players playing in Eastern European countries. In this match, the Bosnian coach will give a rest to stars such as Miralem Pjanić, Sead Kolašinac, etc. in preparation for the game against Italy and the Netherlands.

Ehsan Hajsafy

The biggest absentee of the game is Edin Dzeko, the star of Italian AS Roma, who is absent due to Coronavirus. Also, three players and two members of the Bosnian technical staff are in the same situation as Dzeko and lost this game. In Team Melli, the illness of Mojtaba Najarian and Sasan Ansari prevented them from joining the squad hence missing the match. Mehdi Shiri and Ali Karimi are the replacement players.

The team coach Dragan Skocic, who is going through his second camp with Iran, has invited a list of domestic league players to the squad. There is a significant list of key players who will miss this match such as Azmoun, Taremi, Ghoddos, Jahanbakhsh, Beiranvand, Mohebbi, Torabi, Ghafouri, Rezaian, and so on.

However, despite being criticized, the national team coach hopes to win this friendly: "I know Bosnia well and I am aware of the strengths and weaknesses of this team. We want to win against them on and off the field. I wish Bosnia success in his next games, but we want to beat this team in the next game."

In the first game since Dragan Skočić, took over, Team Melli defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 away from home to mark a positive start and hope for an impressive run for the Croatian coach's tenure. Team Melli will be in Bosnia from Monday night and will return to Tehran after Thursday's match and will not have any more friendly matches, which is due to the perpetual weakness of the Iranian federation in arranging friendly matches.

The Bosnian national football team suffered a recession after the 2014 World Cup and could not qualify for Euro 2016 or even the 2018 World Cup. Bosnia did not qualify for Euro 2021 recently, so the trail of failure is still hanging around Bosnia disappointing its fans. However, in the second round of the Europa League, they reached the highest level of competition and are in a group consisting of the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland. Bosnia collected 2 points only from its first 4 games. However, with several of the squad members playing professionally in European leagues, they are still a serious benchmark for Iran.

 "In the game against Iran, we want to give some players a chance, specifically those who do not normally get playing time. This game is an opportunity to learn about the technical quality of the young and newly invited players," Dušan Bajević said of his team's condition before the friendly against Iran and Italy in the Europa League.

"They are playing in the Bosnian league, but they are not at the level of the players who play in the European leagues. However, the national team player must always be serious." The Bosnian coach also called Iran a strong team in the offensive line, but considered the national team's defensive line to be weak: "The Iranian national team has not been able to achieve the desired results in the past few years. They changed their coach. Skocic has taken over the reins of Iran and now he has only played one game while he was in charge on the bench. We analyzed Iran's friendly against Uzbekistan. They have good players in attack but weak in defense."