Saelemaekers joined Roma on a season-long dry loan as part of a swap that saw Tammy Abraham arrive at Milan via the same formula. That means negotiations are needed if one or both are to move permanently.
Igli Tare has just stepped in as the new sporting director for the Rossoneri, and it was reported on Monday night that he had met his Roma counterpart Florent Ghisolfi to discuss the futures of both players.
Di Marzio is reporting that there was no white smoke from that meeting: Roma have no agreement with Milan for Saelemaekers. Not only that, but he adds that ‘the Rossoneri would like to keep him’.
It is perhaps no surprise that the Giallorossi want to explore signing the Belgian permanently. He had a fantastic second half of the season under Claudio Ranieri, playing mostly as a right wing-back in a 3-4-2-1 system.
In Serie A, the former Anderlecht man racked up seven goals and three assists in 23 games played. However, the player is owned by Milan, who would ‘like to keep him’ in their squad for next season at present
Roma now must formulate an offer to convince the Rossoneri to let him go, but for now they are blocking the deal. The capital club will have to satisfy Milan’s demands, otherwise they won’t proceed