Roma completed the signing of Cengiz Under on a £12m fee from Basaksehir over the summer which was a record for a Turkey international leaving the Super Lig.
The Italian giants almost missed out on signing Under as Manchester City were closing in on a deal according to Roma sporting director Monchi.
Turkish-Football reported City being on the verge of signing Under before the Roma transfer but this is the first time Monchi has admitted how close the Premier League leaders were to signing the youngster.
See More: Was Cengiz Under Right To Pick Roma Over Man City?
“We met with Göksel Gümüşdağ [Basaksehir president] and they helped us complete the transfer,” Monchi said.
“But it was by no means easy.
“It was a really tough transfer to pull off as there were so many clubs trying to sign him like Manchester City.
“They really wanted him.”
Under did reveal that Monchi convinced him to join as he was offered first-team football and the chance to fill the void left by Salah who joined Liverpool shortly before the transfer was completed.
“They signed me as Salah’s replacement so I am here to play. I could not believe the transfer happened so quickly,” Under was quoted as saying by Turkish-Football.
“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.”
The Turkey international would have been loaned out to Bundesliga outfit Freiburg had he joined City instead.
The 20-year-old has six goals and an assist since February for the Giallorossi.
Under has been in impressive form scoring away to Napoli and in his Champions League debut against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Roma starlet has even earned himself the nickname, ‘Nuovo Salah’ [New Salah].
