The manager of Roma has spoken out on the club’s pursuit of West Ham star Crysencio Summerville and it will come as a major boost for Aston Villa.
Crysencio Summerville has been heavily linked with a move away from West Ham following relegation with Aston Villa chief among his suitors.
With Aston Villa offloading a number of players and reportedly on the verge of selling Morgan Rogers for a record £117m, Unai Emery has plenty of money to spend.
And a big chunk of that may now be winging its way to West Ham after a major twist over Summerville’s future.
Roma boss issues surprise update on Summerville
The bad news for Villa is that the number of clubs linked with Summerville has swelled following his World Cup exploits.
The good news is Summerville has a £50m relegation release clause in his West Ham deal, as exclusively revealed by Hammers News.
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Heading into the weekend, though, there were claims that West Ham may now try to hold on to Summerville – just as they have done with captain Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek.
Since then, reports that the flying Dutchman could be heading to Italian side Roma have intensified.
Across Saturday and Sunday a host of Italian journalists and outlets claimed Summerville was open to the move and Roma had made an official bid – albeit below West Ham’s release clause, which Hammers News has previously revealed is “£50m and complicated”.
So complicated it seems it has now ruled Roma out of the running, paving the way for newly-minted Aston Villa to get a free run at Summerville instead.
Because Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini has responded on West Ham star Summerville, handing a golden chance to Aston Villa.
Villa handed golden chance to sign Summerville
Gasperini took journalists by surprise when he started openly talking about targets in his latest press conference.
The Italian bemoaned Roma’s financial situation, which he hoped would be improved by qualification for the Champions League.
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Then he addressed his interest in signing Summerville and controversial striker Mason Greenwood and his words will be music to the ears of Aston Villa – and West Ham given Roma’s attempts to get their winger on the cheap.
Gasperini said the money both players wanted would have broken the club’s wage structure and caused problems in the Roma dressing room.
“They’re (Summerville and Greenwood) not within our reach, but by choice, not because the owners can’t afford it,” Gasperini said, as reported by Roma Press.
“The choice is to set contract targets. There are players who have led the team to the Champions League, and seeing new arrivals overtake them creates problems.
“Furthermore, it’s beneficial for the club; the wage bill is important. When these parameters aren’t met, we look elsewhere.”
West Ham are now expecting a bid from Aston Villa for Summerville and at a level that meets the clause in his contract.
Man United and Spurs have also previously been interested with Summerville making his preference clear.
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