There were a few transfer targets that got away from Leicester City this summer – such as Adam Hlozek and Wilfried Zaha – but the biggest saga of the window revolved around Matias Soule.
There was plenty of back and forth over the Argentinian forward, with City initially offering the best deal to Juventus and to the player, but with Soule preferring to move to Roma. In the end, he got his wish, sealing a move potentially worth £25m.
But so far, it’s not panned out as he’d hoped. For a start, the manager that convinced him to move to the Italian capital, Daniele De Rossi, was sacked after just four games.
Soule said in August: “Leicester wanted me so much, both the coach and the sporting director called me to convince me of their project. But then I felt the affection of De Rossi, of Roma, of the team-mates who contacted me and I decided from that moment to say no to all the other clubs and to think only of Roma.”
Without a win from the first four Serie A matches, De Rossi was sacked. New boss Ivan Juric has won seven points from a possible nine domestically since he took charge, but in Europe, it’s just one point from two games, with Roma suffering a shock defeat away to Swedish side Elfsborg.
And Soule’s performance in that match prompted a comparison he’d rather not have received. Media verdicts from the Europa League tie identified the Argentinian as Roma’s poorest performer, and fans online began to compare him to Juan Manuel Iturbe.
Iturbe, signed for around £21m from Hellas Verona in 2014, scored just five goals in 68 outings over three seasons for Roma, earning a reputation as an expensive flop.
Soule has plenty of time to turn things around. While he’s not yet scored or assisted in eight outings for his new club, he’s not been cast aside by new manager Juric, starting three of the five games under the Croatian, and coming on as a substitute in the other two.
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