Last Sunday, Roma won against Parma at the Stadio Olimpico without any problems 5-0. It was a victory whose heroes were Paulo Dybala and Alexis Salemaekers. The former scored two goals and provided an assist. The second one scored and won penalty kick. Unfortunately – from the point of view of a Polish fan – he was again a passive observer Nicola Zalewski. The Pole sat through it all game on the bench. Will he soon say goodbye to Rome?
Will Zalewski change the club? They are willing
The Pole's contract expires at the end of June, which means that from January 1 he will be able to freely talk to a potential new employer and sign a contract for the new season. Claudio Ranieri did not write off Zalewski in his recent statements, but the Italian's personal decisions are clear.
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Polish the shuttleman is not a key figure for Roma. Zalewski is losing the competition with Angelino and Alexis Salemaekers on shuttles, and the competition behind Artem Dowbyk – Roma's only striker – is considerable. Paulo Dybala, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Tommaso Baldanzi play there. If Zalewski gets opportunities, he doesn't take advantage of them. This was the case on December 18, when Roma defeated Sampdoria 4-1 in the Coppa Italia. The Pole was one of the weakest players on the field.
Matches like the one against Braga in the Europa League, where Zalewski scored an assist, are rare. No wonder that with the transfer window approaching, there are first speculations about a potential change of the club.
– Fenerbahce and Besiktas are seriously interested in Zalewski and both clubs are planning new concrete steps to sign a contract with the Pole in the winter transfer window. AS Roma, for their part, want to sell Nicola and make money in January so as not to lose him as a free agent in the summer, journalist Rudy Galetti told X.
Time will tell whether Roma will reach an agreement with any of the interested clubs and whether the Pole will exchange Rome for Istanbul in the winter. Otherwise, he may face another six months of irregular play in an environment that – at least judging by the fans and their reactions – probably does not have much hope for him anymore.
Zalewski is a student of Roma. He has played 121 games for the club so far matchesin which he scored two goals and provided nine assists. The next match of the Roman club will be on December 29. His rival will be AC Milan.