Roma close door on Azmoun amidst interest

Roma don’t want to lose Sardar Azmoun and have turned down multiple approaches in recent days, Fabrizio Romano reports.

The 29-year-old Iranian striker joined the Giallorossi from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer on a loan deal with a €12.5m buy option attached. He struggled for regular playing time under Jose Mourinho, seeing just 235 minutes of action across 13 league matches, failing to make a single start.

Azmoun is currently at the Asian Cup and scored in their opening game against Palestine. He’s been prolific at international level, scoring 50 goals in 76 games, but hasn’t managed to show his best at club level outside of Russia.

As reported by Romano, a handful of clubs came forward for Azmoun in recent days, but Roma rebuffed all their approaches, making it clear that they don’t want to lose the Iranian striker this month.

Coach Daniele De Rossi believes the 29-year-old can be an important part of the squad in the second half of this season, especially as Fiorentina eye up a move for Andrea Belotti.