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Football

21st Jun 2018

Radja Nainggolan’s departure from Roma is set to go through this week

The Serie A club are already close to signing Nainggolan's replacement

Wayne Farry

He will be an enormous upgrade on what they already have

Inter Milan’s move for AS Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan is expected to go through this week after the details of the transfer were agreed between both clubs.

The 30-year-old midfielder, who has been with Roma since 2014, will join Luciano Spalletti’s side ahead of their return to the Champions League, in a deal that is expected to cost approximately £20 million.

As part of the deal, Inter defender Davide Santon and youth player Nicolo Zaniolo are expected to head to the Stadio Olimpico. Santon has struggled to impress at the San Siro since returning to the club from a spell in England with Newcastle United.

Roma are already close to replacing Nainggolan, after agreeing a fee with Paris Saint-Germain for midfielder Javier Pastore.

Pastore, who played for Palermo before moving to Ligue 1 at the beginning of the PSG experiment, has been unable to break into a midfield which has seen Marco Verratti, Adrien Rabiot and Giovani Lo Celso play consistently throughout the season.

One issue said to be possibly holding up the deal is the departure of Santon who, despite not being considered particularly highly among Inter coaches, is a homegrown player and, as such, may be kept in order for the club to meet the homegrown quota for their upcoming Champions League campaign.