AS Roma, currently sitting seventh in Serie A after a 5-3 defeat to Inter Milan at the weekend, are set to be bought this month by Thomas Di Benedetto's company, Di Benedetto AS Roma LLC. Di Benedetto is a part owner in Fenway Sports group, née New England Sports Ventures, who own Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox among other things.
When Liverpool were bought by New England Sports Ventures, a plethora of Moneyball comparisons inevitably followed. But what really helped the Reds was the amount of money dropped into the club. Sure, they needed Chelsea's money from the Fernando Torres sale to buy Andy Carroll, but the club was already in hot pursuit of Luiz Suarez. This group is willing to invest in order to see a quality product on the pitch.
Will Di Benedetto be the same? Roma fans sure hope so. Even with the team almost certainly out of the scudetto race, they'll likely be playing in Europe next season. While the Roma starting XI includes an impressive array of talent, they'll need to add depth to be true contenders. If the American company provides the cash to add to the squad, Roma fans are likely to be thrilled.