A 27-year-old international at the peak of his career has been AS Roma’s best player this season. Yet it remains in doubt whether he will be at the Stadio Olimpico in 2015/16.
Radja Nainggolan has enjoyed an incredible rise. Just five years ago he was playing in a Serie B with Piacenza. He got his big move in 2010 when he joined the Sardinian outfit Cagliari. Five seasons in Serie A and over 130 league appearances later, Nainggolan had established himself as a good top flight player.
But he had done only that. He had not set the league alight with dazzling displays. He was not being linked with top clubs around Europe, like he is now. Roma took a gamble on Nainggolan. The gamble paid off for the Giallorossi.
Nainggolan joined Roma in January 2014 on loan for the rest of the 2013-2014 season. The Belgian international began his time in capital when the team was on a high. Roma were sitting second in the league and playing football which was earning them plaudits across the continent. The midfield trio in particular were being cited as instrumental to Roma’s resurgence under Rudi Garcia. It seemed doubtful whether Nainggolan could muster his way into the first team and make an impact at his new club, how he would defy the odds.
It is true, however, that he was helped by circumstances. Kevin Strootman, who had been in superb form for Roma in the first-half of the campaign, suffered a serious knee injury. The Dutch international, who plays in a similar style to Nainggolan, is still recovering from the remnants of the injury but that should take nothing away from his stand-in. Nainggolan has taken his chance with both hands.
In the second-half of the last campaign he eased into the side and produced glimpses of the form he would show in the following season. Nainggolan even scored the goal that secured Roma a place in the Champions League for the first time since 2011. Yet it is this season that he has become crucial to Roma.
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Nainggolan has produced some stunning performances this campaign. One of the most telling statistics for the Belgian’s superb form this season is his passing accuracy, at 86.9%, which is his best ever in a Serie A campaign. This is coupled with Roma averaging 85.0% passing accuracy in Serie A, making them the best in the Italian top flight in terms of pass success rate. But Nainggolan offers so much more than just passing.
His dynamic style has energised Roma during the campaign. He has scored vital goals when his side have needed him most. An equaliser against Udinese a couple of weeks ago when Roma’s chances of Champions league football seemed to be fading was just one example where Nainggolan has dragged Roma along with him. Despite all this, it remains in doubt whether the Belgian will be at Roma next season.
The Giallorossi have been in negotiations with Cagliari all season in order to buy Nainggolan on a permanent deal, yet they are nowhere near agreeing a fee. Last summer Roma bought half of the player’s contract to ensure that Nainggolan would play at the Stadio Olimpico in 2014/15. The Co-ownership deal, however, expires at the end of the current campaign and Cagliari are refusing to settle for anything less than $21 million for their 50% stake of the player. Roma seems reluctant to match Cagliari’s valuation, and the Giallorossi could well be too stubborn for their own good.
$21 million for 50% of Nainggolan would be slightly pricey, but Roma should take another gamble on the Belgian. Juventus are lining up a move for the midfielder should their own talisman Arturo Vidal leave Turin this summer. Roma are already behind Juve, and to lose their best player to the side who have won four straight Scudetto titles would be worrying to say the least. Nainggolan has shown enough this season for Roma to put their faith in him once again. With his permanent addition, the Giallorossi would have a fantastic midfielder quartet to build a successful team around. Roma need to sign-up Nainggolan, or risk falling further behind the Juventus juggernaut.
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