One of the most surprising moves in the end of the summer transfer window had to do with Romelu Lukaku's signing with Roma. The team from the Italian capital has never been a big spending club, and signing one of the highest rated strikers raised a few eyebrows.
Earlier today, team exec Tiago Pinto admitted that negotiations were handled carefully to deliver a proper ending for Roma, while also stating that Jose Mourinho's involvement was crucial to see the deal taking place.
"I don't want to say when I realized it could be done. I can't tell you that I spent three months talking to him (Lukaku). We certainly could not have hired him back in June or July. I was made aware of his situation by another player, and we kept tabs on him without creating any false expectactions. We waited for the right moment and seized our opportunity," Pinto stated.
Then, the club's director spoke how Mourinho got involved in the deal and was ultimately given the green light by his employers to pursue the deal.
"Mourinho's involvement was key as well, mainly because of the relationship they have. It took him four or five days to convince him. Then, I have to speak about how our owners, the Friedkins, made my job even more simple. They walked into the negotiation and made it happen," Pinto added.
The exec went on to speak about his relationship with Jose Mourinho, who was seemingly upset about some of the failed transfers during this summer. According to Pinto, both the coach and himself are ready to keep the eyes on the prize rather than starting a tug of war that will do no good to the team.
"There is no clash between Mourinho and me. We speak the same language and we always speak our minds. We are motivated to see Roma's projects succeed, we want to do what's best for the team. Both of us want to see Roma playing Champions League football. If we qualify or not that's a different story, if we are forced to do so, I can't say. But when you hire players such as Lukaku, Abraham, or Aouar, we have to convince them to pursue those goals," Pinto said
Although Roma have experienced a slow start to the season, the team could turn things around after the ongoing international break. Hopefully for Roma fans, the team's new signings will do their job in time to steer their team back to safety.
