Roma have officially completed the permanent signing of Argentine striker Santiago Castro from Bologna, the club announced on Thursday. The 21-year-old becomes the Giallorossi's first arrival of the summer transfer window, joining in a deal worth €35m plus bonuses.
Bologna retain a 10% sell-on clause as part of the agreement, while Roma striker Artem Dovbyk is expected to move in the opposite direction on an initial loan deal with an option to buy for a fee in the region of €17m.
Castro has signed a five-year contract at the Stadio Olimpico, keeping him in the capital until the summer of 2031, and has been handed the number 9 shirt for his first season in Rome.
"A.S. Roma is pleased to announce the arrival of Santiago Tomás Castro from Bologna FC. The transaction ends with the definitive transfer," read a statement on the club's website. "The forward, born in 2004, has worn the shirts of Bologna and Vélez Sarsfield. With the Rossoblù he played 105 games and scored 22 goals. He chose the jersey number 9. Welcome to Rome, Santiago!"
Born in 2004, Castro came through the youth ranks at Vélez Sarsfield before joining Bologna, where he made 105 appearances and scored 22 goals. He announced himself in Serie A during his first full season in 2024-25, contributing eight goals and five assists in 36 appearances, and added seven goals and three assists in 35 league outings last season.
Castro arrives at a club in transition under head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, and is expected to compete with Donyell Malen for the starting centre-forward role. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Argentine was greeted by hundreds of fans on his arrival in the city, and Gasperini has previously experimented with a two-striker system, leaving open the possibility of Castro and Malen featuring together.
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