Roma's Kuffour Bid Falls Flat

Roma's new bid for Bayern's defender Samuel Kuffour has hit hard ground after Bayern rejected the $18million tabled, seemingly without hesitation.

The block has forced the champions to consider other options and sources in Rome have revealed that Napoli's stopper Emanuele Troise is the new target. A swap deal involving Abel Balbo has been discussed with the Napoli management and Roma are even prepared to pay half of Balbo's $1.3million a year salary to get the Under-21 international defender.

Coach Fabio Capello watched his side glide to a 3-0 win over Fiorentina in the Italian Supercup on Sunday, but the need for 2 news defenders is as desperate as ever.

After Salio Lassissi broke his leg, Capello stepped up the quest with bids for Parma’s Cannavaro, Boca's Rolando Schiavi, River's Mario Yepes and Chelsea's Marcel Desailly but all attempts to strengthen his defence have failed.