Roma turned to Matthew Ryan after Standard Liege raised price tag on Arnaud Bodart | OneFootball

Roma have found Mile Svilar’s deputy for next season.

On Sunday evening, Roma sporting director Florent Ghisolfi closed the deal for the Australian veteran keeper Mathew Ryan (32).

He arrives on a free transfer (he will sign for one year with the option for another two) given that his contract with Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, where he played for the last year and a half, expired on June 30th.

According to Il Messaggero, already in 2015, when he defended the posts of Brugge and before moving to Valencia, Ryan had been linked to the Giallorossi.

Ghisolfi reportedly changed strategy after the trail leading to Arnaud Bodart of Standard Liège became complicated due to the Belgian club’s request for 4 million euros: the Giallorossi had gone up to 2 million and also wanted to insert some younger players into the deal.

However, Standard’s strategy of raising Bodart’s price tag ultimately motivated Roma to turn to Ryan and secure his services on a free.