Both Sunderland and Championship Blackburn Rovers decided not to keep Jack Rodwell – but could he soon be playing Serie A football with Roma?
Not many players go from having their contract at Sunderland ripped up to joining one of the biggest clubs in Italian football a year later.
But Jack Rodwell, if reports are to be believed, could be about to embark upon the most unexpected of moves with Serie A giants Roma suffering an injury crisis in central midfield.
According to the Mail, Paulo Fonseca’s side have turned to the free agent market with Bryan Cristante, Amadou Diawara and Lorenzo Pellegrini all stuck on the sidelines.
A move for former Milan playmaker Riccardo Montolivo appears to be a no-goer while 35-year-old Icelandic veteran Emil Hallfredson have also been linked. But it is the suggestion that Rodwell could soon pull on the famous sunset orange that will raise eyebrows on English shores.
According to the BBC, Rodwell had his staggering £43,000-a-week contract terminated in June 2018.
He had initially refused to give up his luxury contract and walk away from cash-strapped Sunderland when they tumbled from the Premier League to the bottom of the Championship, instead merely hoovering up his wages while sitting out every game like a Southport-born Winston Bogarde.
As a result, the former England international remains one of the most unpopular players in Sunderland’s recent history – justifiably so too. He was released by Blackburn Rovers too after a short-lived spell at Ewood Park came to an end last summer.
So you’d have got long odds on Rodwell playing Serie A and Europa League football with Roma just a few days ago.
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