Roma’s Kostas Manolas has seemingly pulled out of a move to Zenit St. Petersburg.
The future of Roma defender Kostas Manolas is up in the air, after he failed to turn up for a medical ahead of a £30million move to Russian giants Zenit St. Petersburg, according to Sky Sports.
Manolas, 26, had been expected to join Roberto Mancini at Zenit, but they were left stunned earlier this week when the Greek international failed to even show up for his medical.
Roma defender Kostas Manolas
Despite Roma agreeing to sell defender Antonio Rudiger to Chelsea, as reported by The Guardian, Manolas could still leave the Stadio Olimpico this summer as Roma’s new team of director of football Monchi and manager Eusebio Di Francesco get to work.
A move to Chelsea now seems unlikely following the deal for Rudiger, but other Premier League clubs should be looking to swoop in and sign the former Olympiacos man this summer.
Sky Italia reported in January that both Everton and Liverpool were interested in signing Manolas, and the two Merseyside rivals could be potential landing spots for him after his move to Zenit hit the buffers.
Everton are pressing ahead with a move for Burnley’s Michael Keane, as noted by BBC Sport, as they look for a younger partner for Ashley Williams, and if anything goes wrong with that move this weekend, then Manolas – available for a similar price – should be a top priority.
Liverpool should certainly be looking to swoop in and give Manolas a move to the Premier League, especially having already done one deal with Roma this summer to sign Mohamed Salah.
AS Roma’s Kostas Manolas (L) in action with Real Madrid Karim Benzema .
The Reds attempted to boost their defence with the signing of Virgil van Dijk, but that move completely fell apart over an alleged illegal approach, meaning Jurgen Klopp is still looking for centre back options to improve on the likes of Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan.
Manolas fits the bill, offering proven quality for club and country, whilst also possessing pace, aerial ability and a great reading of the game – whilst coming at half the price of Van Dijk should also be appealing.
Liverpool would have to move quickly to land Manolas, but if they are still in the market for a centre back, then the Greek star could be one of the better options available right now.
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