Roma Loanee Keen on Staying Put Amid Uncertainty

The Cult of Calcio

·8 April 2025

Roma Loanee Keen on Staying Put Amid Uncertainty

Lucas Gourna-Douath resurfaced after a while to help the Roma midfield in the second half of the Juventus game, providing a solid contribution on both ends. He hadn’t played in eight straight matches before the last one.

He joined the Giallorossi in January on loan with a €18M option to buy. It’s far from certain it’ll be picked up given his lack of minutes, but he hopes so, as he told the press (via OneFootball).

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“I don’t think this is the right time to talk about my contract and the close. I’m a Roma player and would obviously like to stay. I could sign tomorrow or never, I don’t know.”

Gourna-Douath has to battle for minutes with more established contributors at Roma.

“The competition in the midfield is stiff: Manu Koné is a French international, Leandro Paredes is a world champion, and Bryan Cristante and Lorenzo Pellegrini are great players. It’s fair for them to be ahead of me. I’m happy to be here and try to carve out a role for myself. We’re a family, and this is healthy. I expected to sub in versus Juventus. Every footballer would like to participate in a match like this. When you’re on the bench, you hope to go out and help your team.”

Our Take on Roma and Gourna-Douath

The fee is rich given his inconsistent game time, but they could use his dynamism and a real alternative to Koné in terms of characteristics. Plus, some of their other midfielders are long in the tooth. The most suitable solution would be to find a way to prolong the loan and reduce the future option to buy a little.