AMSTERDAM — Longtime admirers AS Roma have reached a package deal with Chievo for midfield general Michael Bradley, leaving only completion of a personal terms agreement to send the US ace to the Eternal City.
A source close to the negotiations told MLSsoccer.com that Chievo will receive €3.5 million and midfielder Leandro Greco in exchange for the 24-year-old New Jersey native, if not also the free loan-out of Roma wing prospect Giammario Piscitella. It is expected that Bradley will ink either a contract that ties him to the Giallorossi until the summer of either 2015 or 2016, with the transfer potentially completed by Monday. Neither his agent nor Chievo replied to requests for comment.
As first reported by MLSsoccer.com last May, Roma have been closely monitoring Bradley since the new ownership group headed by Boston businessman Thomas DiBenedetto made it an aim to capture a quality American player. The midfielder was then on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach to Aston Villa and moved to Chievo last summer.
Roma finally made an approach for his services in the middle of last month, and the source indicated that they have moved so quickly on the deal for a few reasons. For starters, the club wanted to beat the rush, with Serie A rivals Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Juventus and Palermo having already called Chievo about the midfielder in a summer market with its bloom delayed by Euro 2012.
Secondly, manager Zdenek Zeman is eager to get the US international into preseason, especially with Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi set to be unavailable for a few more weeks due to recuperation after his Euro 2012 involvement.
Finally, club management would like to have Bradley along for their upcoming American tour. They will play against Polish side Zaglebie Lubin in Chicago on July 22, Liverpool in Boston's Fenway Park three days later and a third match on the East Coast not yet announced.
