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You don’t have to be an expert in football punditry to understand the appeal of Alexander Sørloth. The statuesque Norwegian striker has amassed 113 goals and 37 assists in a 10-year career that has seen the 6’4″ forward ply his trade everywhere from Norway to Belgium to the Netherlands and, most recently, to Spain. In 39 appearances in all competitions with Villareal last season, Sørloth turned in a career year, scoring 26 goals in all competitions.
Of course, along with that massive build and massive scoring record comes a massive transfer fee. At 27 years old and at the peak of his powers, Sørloth has never been more valuable. The venerable Transfermarkt appraises the former Bodø/Glimt striker at approximately €25 million, a fair fee for a striker as prolific as Sørloth.
The problem, as far as Roma is concerned, is that Villareal isn’t blind to this fact. While La Repubblica claims Sørloth is eager to join the Giallorossi, Roma’s La Liga counterparts view Transfermarkt’s appraisal as a mere starting point and are likely to demand at least €30 to €35 million for the Trondheim native.
While Roma just netted some €15 million by selling Houssem Aouar and Jan Oliveras to Al-Ittihad, with the club chasing a pair of €30 million wingers in Federico Chiesa and Matías Soulé, they may not have a spare €35 million to throw Villareal’s way.
Still, with rumors of Tammy Abraham’s impending exit, Daniele De Rossi’s club will need a new center forward. And if DDR wants to emulate Luciano Spalletti’s successful Roman teams, he’ll need a hulking striker around which his fleet-footed wingers can coalesce so Sørloth could win out by default, serving as a latter-day Edin Dzeko.
But that doesn’t make this a fait accompli. Yes, Sørloth made mincemeat of Spanish defenses last season, but he’s been a maddeningly inconsistent player throughout his career, trading goal-scoring binges in Denmark and Turkey with fallow periods in England and Germany.
At a potential €35 million clip, this gamble could make or break Roma this season.
