Until now, I’ve purposely avoided posting transfer rumors, since they routinely consist of smoke and mirrors, frequently served up with a side of exaggeration. In this case, however, the player - not the agent - is doing the talking, and given the names involved, I’m paying special attention:

“Obviously it pleases me to be linked with Roma. However we will talk about this later at the end of the season. All I am thinking about at the moment is Udinese,” said Zebrette striker Antonio Di Natale to the Guerino Sportivo.

“With Luciano Spalletti at Udinese we had an explosive attack with Iaquinta, Di Michele and me. The year after we found things more difficult after Spalletti left.”

While it’s true that at this point, it’s just talk - probably nothing more, definitely nothing less - the fact that Di Natale is in top form now, combined with the fact that he has worked under Spalletti before, has me dizzy with the possibilities.

As it stands, Roma are an exceptional team. On any day of the week, they can (at the very least) put a scare into any club in the world. Moreover, they’ve gained a reputation of playing some of the most entertaining football in Europe (Google Roma and “beautiful football” if you want to read some of the comments that have been made regarding the Roman style of play).

That said, as of late (and maybe going back a little farther as well), Roma have shown some inconsistency, not to mention an intermittent lack of finishing ability in front of the net.

Enter Di Natale. Slotted right behind Il Capitano, I have little doubt that Totò would be an excellent fit for Spalletti’s attacking system.

To those who think that Di Natale’s age (30) would make him an acquisition of debatable value, I pose these questions: Would you like to see Totti win another Scudetto? How long do you think he’ll be able to play at his current level? How long before he comes down with DelPieroitis and starts suffering frequent unproductive stints?

I believe that Roma are capable of winning the Scudetto now. Then again, I believed they were capable last season as well. However, strengthening up for the near term (i.e. the “while Totti is still playing” term) with a guy like Di Natale could allow them to transcend just being “capable,” and Roma could finally pull past ArgentInter with points to spare.

If Roma gets the opportunity at season’s end, I think Totò deserves a look. Just imagine this guy linking up with Il Capitano:

Categories: Roma, transfers