All the focus around Roma has been on Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho was announced as the next Roma boss earlier this week, and will take over when Paulo Fonseca leaves this summer.
Forget the Europa League semi-final against Manchester United, it’s all become about Mourinho – but Fonseca now finds himself as a man in demand.
The 48-year-old has won nine trophies across his managerial career, and having excelled with Shakhtar Donetsk before his move to Roma, he could move to the Premier League.
Tuttomercatoweb reported last week that Arsenal have initiated contact with Fonseca, before the same site then claimed Leeds United have also been in contact with his representatives.
Ian McGarry now claims that Fonseca has been offered to both Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur, with a next job now being pursued.
Roma have confirmed that Fonseca can go, so it’s no surprise that his name is already being pushed out and linked with other clubs.
It may not have worked perfectly at Roma, but Fonseca remains a bright manager who plays a progressive brand of football, so he is bound to attract interest.
Ahead of tonight’s Europa League semi-final second leg, Fonseca has told The Independent that he has been thinking of a future away from Roma for a while, whilst praising his successor Mourinho.
“Mourinho is a great coach, we all know that. I think he will do a great job. Speaking honestly, I thought it was time to follow a different path away from Roma,” said Fonseca.
It seems that, despite only being with Roma since 2019, he has been keen to work on a new project for a while now.
That does fit with Fonseca’s nomadic nature outside of his three years at Shakhtar; they’re the only club he’s managed more than 100 games with, and he’s now on the move again.
A move to Arsenal seems unlikely with Mikel Arteta still in a job, whilst a move to Leeds would depend on Marcelo Bielsa leaving – which doesn’t exactly look likely.
Spurs or Celtic may be Fonseca’s best bet here, but whether either side are actually interested in him remains to be seen.
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