It was a genuinely fine thing to watch. And it was precisely what they had come to see. Not because there was any doubt left, but because reinforcing certain convictions is always worthwhile before advancing — and this is the moment to draw conclusions. Juventus want a more Italian midfield, yes — but above all they want a better one. And for that they have identified Alessandro Romano as the ideal reinforcement for the engine room. The qualities are clear, evident, and tangible.
No More Doubts — The Dall’Ara Scouting Visit
The institutional dimension of the scouting operation that preceded this article is the most revealing detail. Carnevali, Ottolini, and Giorgio Chiellini — Director of Football Strategy — attended the Italy match in Bologna together, specifically to observe Romano in the national team environment. Three senior figures making the same journey to the same stadium for the same player is not routine. It is a statement of seriousness and collective conviction that goes beyond individual enthusiasm.
What they saw at the Dall’Ara confirmed and reinforced what the analytical data and the Cagliari performances had already established. Romano’s pass accuracy in the opposition half sits at 87% — an exceptional figure for a player still 20 years old, operating in a Serie A team that plays high-press, transition-based football under Pisacane. And then there is the quality the numbers cannot capture: having absorbed the pressure of a first Italy call-up — and the criticism that followed his performance against Belgium — with the composure of a player several years older. The Sword of Damocles, as Corbo puts it, that would have cut the legs from under most. Not Alessandro Romano.
From Roma to Cagliari — the Story the Paywalled Chapter Tells
The second chapter — “Dalla Roma alla consacrazione con il Cagliari” — traces the biographical arc that brought Romano to this precise moment of maximum visibility: an academy product of Roma who was loaned to La Spezia and then D’Angelo’s promotion-era squad before making the move to Cagliari in January for €5.9 million, with the permanent acquisition clause activating at the club’s first league point. He has since become one of the most talked-about young midfielders in Italian football.
The Competition — Juventus, Inter, Roma, and Milan Are All Following
The third chapter confirms that the race is already densely populated. Inter, Roma, and Milan are all monitoring Romano’s situation, and Premier League clubs were referenced even before his Italy debut. The Massara agent connection — the structural advantage Juventus hold through the close relationship between Romano’s representation and the Juventus CFO — remains the most significant differentiating factor. When negotiations open, Juventus will have conversations to which the other clubs do not have access at the same level of intimacy.
The Price — and Why Speed Is Essential
The fourth chapter — “Valutazione e prezzo del talento del Cagliari” — addresses the question the entire preceding analysis has been building towards. Cagliari’s valuation of Romano, having watched him become one of the most in-demand young players in Italian football within six months of his arrival on the island, will not reflect the €5.9 million they paid to make him permanent. The figures in circulation suggest a price tag that has already moved significantly higher — and will continue to move with every impressive performance, every Italy appearance, and every week that Inter, Milan, and Premier League clubs sharpen their own interest.
The urgency Corbo’s headline communicates — “perché bisogna sbrigarsi” — is not manufactured. It is the straightforward logic of a competitive landscape in which the window for acquiring a player of this quality at a price that makes financial sense is finite, and is being eroded with each match he plays. Sunday at Cagliari — when Carnevali, Ottolini, and Chiellini will watch Romano from the other side of the tactical equation — is both the next scouting opportunity and the next occasion on which his price moves upward.
