Fuham have joined Premier League rivals West Ham United in the race to sign Justin Kluivert but Serie A giants Roma will only consider permanent offers, as reported by Corriere dello Sport.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matthijs de Ligt, Vinicius Jr, Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho; Those are just five of the players who were left trailing in Kluivert’s wake back in 2018. The 18-year-old Ajax wonderkid fought off serious competition to claim Goal.com’s Next Gen award, bestowed upon the most exciting young talent in all of world football.
Five years on, Donnarumma is a European champion with Italy. De Ligt has joined Bayern Munich from Juventus. Vinicius Jr scored 22 goals for Real Madrid last season. Foden and Sancho, meanwhile, are regulars on both sides of the Manchester divide.
Now, it’s Kluivert’s turn to feel left behind.
Could Fulham sign Justin Kluivert from Roma?
The twice-capped Netherlands international is not part of Roma’s pre-season tour. And, after a couple of underwhelming loan spells at Nice and RB Leipzig, the Conference League winners are looking to sell a player who’s scintillating performances at Ajax have not been replicated with any frequency outside of his Dutch homeland.
West Ham were keen before turning their attention to Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic. According to Corriere dello Sport, Fulham have made inquiries too, with Roma willing to sell for around £15 million.
Then again, earlier this week, the Cottagers unveiled the signing of another right-footed left winger in Manor Solomon. Kluivert is versatile enough to play on both sides but he exploded onto the scene at Ajax strutting his stuff the left-hand flank.
Is Patrick’s baby-faced son merely an alternative to Solomon? Or someone viewed as capable of providing competition for the Israel international?
For now, that is a question we cannot answer with any certainty.
“I look up to Cristiano Ronaldo,” Kluivert told FourFourTwo a couple of years ago. “Not just because of his qualities, which are obvious, but also the way he lives and eats and how hard he trains. He is really an example for me.
“Barcelona is my dream club. Within seven years, I would like to be at Barcelona. Before that I would like to play in England as well. I really like that competition (the Premier League).”
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