Roma lost Mohamed Salah to Liverpool over the summer transfer window.
The Egyptian star scored 19 times and provided 15 assists in an impressive season for the Giulurossi.
The Serie A giants looked to Cengiz Under as an unlikely replacement for the 25-year-old winger.
Under joined Roma as an unknown quantity. The Turkey international turned 20 on the day of his transfer and made the move.
The rising star impressed for Basaksehir, playing a key role in his side finishing the league as runners-up and reaching the Turkish Cup final.
A promising prospect but a replacement for Salah?
What Under achieved was impressive but the step up from the Istanbul minnows to Roma was gargantuan.
An often forgotten fact is that Under was initially signed as a replacement for Salah. He actually turned down Manchester City for the chance to fill the Egyptian’s boots.
See More: Fifa 18 TOTW 22 – Cengiz Under Joins Liverpool & Man City Star’s In FUT Team Of The Week Announced by EA Sports
Turkish-Football quoted Under as saying: “They signed me as Salah’s replacement so I am here to play. I could not believe the transfer happened so quickly.
“We were in other talks with Man City, then I got a call from my agent who said ‘the Roma deal is done’, I couldn’t sleep that night.”
Under did not make an instant impact. He struggled to adapt to a new language as well as a new style of football and living in a foreign country for the first time.
The youngster only started only four Serie A games before the turn of the year. There was even talk of him leaving on loan in January.
Under and his team never entertained the thought of leaving. Neither did Roma who showed patience and worked with him closely behind the scenes.
The long wait finally paid dividends last month when he opened his goalscoring account against Verona.
Followed by a brace and an assist for Dzeko in the 5-2 rout of Benevento.
Then he managed to score against in the 2-0 win over Udinese last weekend.
Under has four goals and an assist in his last three games. Four of his last five shots on target have found the back of the net.
Di Francesco decided to take a risk on Under after abandoning his 4-3-3 setup in favor of a 4-2-3-1.
The gamble paid off. Under has started Roma’s last five games. The Italian giants have won every game he has scored in.
The Repubblica newspaper in Italy called Under the ‘New Salah’ after the victory over Udinese.
Fans are calling him ‘Nuovo Salah’ – Italian for the new Salah.
Roma, Under the Top: è “il nuovo Salah” //t.co/kxqFZZERjd
— Romolo Buffoni (@romoloB) February 19, 2018
Il nuovo Salah pic.twitter.com/BjBO5MDBZ4
— Alex Marko (@Alexmarko88) February 17, 2018
E se il piccolo turco diventasse il nuovo #Salah?#ASRoma #Under//t.co/CBX1rY0Ljk pic.twitter.com/YNTzgpydvW
— Gazzetta GialloRossa (@GazzGialloRossa) February 13, 2018
The Turkish media has caught on and Fanatik lead with a headline using the same nickname today.
Under still has a long way to go if he wants to reach the levels of Salah who has 30 goals and 10 assists in all competitions for Liverpool. But he is on the right path.
The Roma rising star is set to start his first Champions League game against Shakhtar in Ukraine on Wednesday in the Last 16 first-leg clash.