Roma rebuild to continue with bid for Real Madrid man

With Roma undergoing a squad overhaul following the arrival of sporting director Monchi from Sevilla, the latest player linked to the new project in the Italian capital is Nacho Fernandez, according to Spanish newspaper AS via Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Spaniard had been a fringe player at Real Madrid for some years but injuries to both Pepe and Raphael Varane over the course of the previous campaign meant the 27-year-old was much more involved.

Indeed, Nacho started 24 matches in La Liga last season, which was double the record he set in the campaign previous, whilst starting a further three games - two of which came in the quarter-finals against Bayern - en route to the Champions League title.

In the league the versatile defender, who primarily plays at centre-back, scored twice and registered three assists whilst maintaining an excellent 91.7% pass accuracy.

With Pepe leaving the Bernabeu it remains to be seen whether the European champions will sell, but Roma are still on the lookout for defensive reinforcements to add to the arrivals of Hector Moreno and Rick Karsdorp, with both Antonio Rudiger and Kostas Manolas tipped to to leave this summer.