Manchester City have been put on alert after Roma director of football Walter Sabatini has agreed that the club would be forced into selling star midfielder Daniele De Rossi if an irrefutable offer is made.
City boss Roberto Mancini has been a firm admirer of the Italian midfield general since his Inter days and now wants to make De Rossi his first signing this summer. With Dutchman Nigel de Jong likely to move away from Etihad, Mancini wants to bring in the gritty 29 year old to bolster the midfield.
De Rossi is a Roma faithful and has recently signed a new five year contract extension with the club. However, Sabatini confirmed that if big offers come their way they would be forced into considering them.
“He is certainly not for sale, but there are things in football that cannot be predicted,” Sabatini is quoted as saying in Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Roma cannot be detached from the reality that the movement of players may be necessary for survival – you see it elsewhere.
“If a team approaches us for De Rossi and proposes a figure where we cannot say no, we will sit around a table and talk about it. This does mean that he would then be sold, but it is a possible scenario.”