Roma director of sport Walter Sabatini has reiterated his club's desire to sign Adrien Rabiot, but only if Paris Saint-Germain are willing to sell.
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The Serie A club reportedly came close to signing Rabiot in the summer, with PSG hoping to move the midfielder on rather than lose him for nothing next year when his contract expires.
And while the Giallorossi will be free to offer the 19-year-old a deal in January ahead of him becoming a free agent at the end of the season, they remain keen to complete a move to bring him to Rome in the winter transfer window instead.
"He's an outstanding player whose rise has been meteoric," Sabatini told a news conference. "We'd be stupid not to want him; that would be a mistake because we like him a lot. He's a player who we want and who we would like to sign in a correct manner. We're not going to wait until we can get him for free.
"We aren't doing these things as a strategic move. Remember we could have signed a great player in [Antonio] Sanabria [for free], but we only bought him in agreement with Barcelona. If we get Rabiot, then it will only be with PSG's consent. We're not going to be disrespectful."
Sabatini could not resist taking one last swipe at Medhi Benatia, who moved to Bayern Munich this summer and accused the Giallorossi of forcing him out of the club to make money.
"Bayern have asked us to stop this diatribe, but there is something that I want to add," Sabatini said. "Benatia had some offers back in January, and he told us he would gladly stay if we were to increase his wages, otherwise he would feel offended.
"In May, I put a price tag of 61 million euros on him, but I was referring then to Benatia the monolith and not the simulacrum that I sold for 28 million euros."