Roma probed the situations of two defensive midfielders who stood out in Brazilian football: André, former Fluminense, and Richard Ríos, former Palmeiras. The information was published by journalist Gianluca di Marzio. The Italian club is mapping options for the position in the market given the likely departure of El Aynaoui, who has advanced talks to transfer to RB Leipzig, in Germany. The Moroccan was one of the highlights of his country's national team at the 2026 World Cup.
In André's case, Roma contacted Wolverhampton, the club that holds the player's rights, and indicated the values of a possible negotiation. According to ESPN, the English club considered the offered figures too low and intends to count on the player to return to the Premier League. The internal valuation of the former Fluminense player is at least 40 million euros, which is equivalent to approximately R$ 241 million.
Regarding Richard Ríos, Roma had previously shown interest in the defensive midfielder who currently plays for Benfica, of Portugal, and has returned to monitoring him amid the possibility of losing El Aynaoui. According to di Marzio, the Portuguese club is starting to consider a loan of the Colombian. Ríos left Palmeiras in 2024 and currently plays for the Portuguese side.
