The rise of the English Premier League over the last 20 years paired with its label as the most entertaining league in the world has seen its clubs purchase many players from the Serie A.
The likes of Gianfranco Zola, Paolo Di Canio and Roberto Di Matteo with the more recent transfers of Alberto Aquilani, Fabio Borini, Alexis Sanchez and the controversial Mario Balotelli have all made the trip from Italy over to England.
It now seems that trend is happening in reverse, with AS Roma leading the charge.
Gervinho left the Gunners in 2013 to pursue a career at the Giallorossi and has not taken a backward step, becoming one of the more important players in the squad.
Ashley Cole was next to pack his bags and leave for Rome in 2014 after eight seasons at Chelsea, although not with quite as much affect.
It seems Roma were happy with their purchases and have decided during this offseason they would dip back into the EPL talent pool, with the imminent signing of Edin Dzeko from Manchester City on the horizon and season long-loans for Mohammed Salah and Wojciech Szczesny of Chelsea and Arsenal respectively.
Dzeko has enjoyed a large amount of success over his 12-season career. The first of many big moments came during his second season at Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
His form during the 2008-09 season was an incredible site to behold. Thirty-six goals from 42 appearances in all competitions, he helped Die Wolfe to their first ever Bundesliga title over the powerhouse Bayern Munich and earned a nomination for the Ballon d’Or.
An alert sounded on the Manchester City radar when he scored 29 goals from 48 appearances in all competitions during the 2009-10 season and was sold in January of the following season.
Dzeko would then help Manchester City to their first EPL title in 44 years, scoring 19 goals in all competitions. The same feat was reached two seasons later with 26 goals.
After a largely unsuccessful 2014-15 season, Dzeko finds himself in Rome who have been lacking a permanent centre-forward such as Dzeko for a number of years. This will enable Rudi Garcia to play Francesco Totti in a much less restricted role, having played as the main centre-forward over the last two seasons.
Dzeko’s dangerous aerial prowess gives Juan Manuel Iturbe and Gervinho a crossing target, but also the ability to play to feet and hold up an attacking play. This is not to discount his ability to shoot.
Much like Dzeko, Salah was recruited by Switzerland’s FC Basel for the 2012-13 season after impressing in a friendly match between the Swiss side and Egyptian U-23 team. The success was almost instant.
The speed and ability of the ‘Egyptian Messi’ helped his side to a league title in that season, scoring 10 goals along the way.
Salah caught the eye of Jose Mourinho and found himself at Chelsea during January the 2013-14 season, managing a surprising number of appearances for the short amount of time.
However he would not be as lucky over the six months following this, languishing on the bench until January of 2015. Fiorentina had been interested in Salah during the previous transfer window and took their opportunity to pounce on a short-term loan deal.
His blistering pace provided too much to handle at times for the majority of the Serie A defences. He lit up the league and had everyone talking.
Mourinho has viewed Salah as surplus to his requirements and Roma are now the beneficiaries. A potential front three of Gervinho, Dzeko and Salah would worry most top European teams, let alone some of the stubborn Serie A defences.
Petr Cech’s inclusion into the Arsenal squad meant Szczesny would have played second fiddle to the Czech international.
The young goalkeeper has spent much of his professional career at the Emirates, which has included Champions League football every season.
He is known to be a shot stopper with a rare ability for a howler, but this is more than made up for.
Szczesny will be battling with veteran custodian Morgan De Sanctis for the number one position at Roma and selection will prove to be even harder for Garcia because of Szczesny’s experience at such a young age.
Roma may have the perfect balance between key players brought in from the Premier League, as well as a solid base of players involved in the Italian system for a number of years. This season could prove to be their best chance at Serie A glory for what would only be the third time in their history and maybe even pushing to be involved in the later stages of this season’s Champions League.
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