Atalanta Closing in on Deal to Re-Sign De Roon From Newly Demoted Middlesbrough

Serie A club Atalanta BC are purportedly close to re-signing Marten De Roon, who joined Middlesbrough only last summer in a deal originally worth £8.8m. 

De Roon made 33 appearances for Boro in the Premier League, scoring four goals. However, the Dutch midfielder's efforts couldn't stop manager Aitor Karanka losing his job and Middlesbrough being relegated from the top flight.

Reports from Calciomercato.com indicate a deal could be reached for De Roon by Wednesday, with the club believing the player could be "the missing piece of Gian Piero Gasperini’s midfield jigsaw". 

With the Serie A club finishing in 4th place in the league last season, De Roon is reportedly keen to rejoin the club instead of seeing out his time with Middlesbrough in the Championship. 

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Atalanta have been busy in the market so far this summer, with manager Gasperini keen to add reinforcements in an attempt to cement the club in the top half of the league. 

Among several others the club have added Florentina's Josip Ilicic and Lazio's Etrit Berisha to their ranks, but a deal for De Roon would cost considerably more.

It is thought that the signing of De Roon would in turn end Atalanta's interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Julian Baumgartlinger and Juventus midfielder Tomás Rincon.

Middlesbrough would use finances raised from the sale of De Roon to fund deals for further reinforcements in a push for promotion back into the top flight. 

The Championship side have done some good business so far in the transfer window, bringing in the likes of Martin Braithwaite from Toulouse and Britt Assombalonga from Nottingham Forest.