Roma have confirmed the signing of striker Robinio Vaz from Marseille, with the 18-year-old putting pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year contract until 2030. The fixed fee is understood to be €25m, with a further €5m in add-ons that could push the total to €30m, and Marseille have also negotiated a 10 per cent sell-on clause should Roma sell him on in future. Vaz has been given the number 78 shirt in Rome.
For Marseille, it is a striking return on a player they signed from Sochaux for just €200,000 in August 2024. Roma moved during the January window rather than waiting until the summer, with Gian Piero Gasperini's side needing forward reinforcements after injuries to Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson left them short of options up front. Rather than gamble on drawn-out pursuits of bigger names, sporting director Massara opted to move early and secure a player French clubs had been monitoring closely.
Marseille lose a forward who had forced his way into Roberto De Zerbi's plans faster than expected, disrupting the club's attacking pecking order after breaking through from the academy pathway. De Zerbi had publicly said in 2025 that Vaz was "not here for us to sell him to England in the summer", underlining how highly the club rated him. Reports in France suggest the relationship cooled over contract talks, with Vaz's wage demands going beyond what Marseille were willing to offer a teenager, which ultimately opened the door for Roma to strike a deal in January instead.
In terms of form, Vaz had made a strong start to the season in Ligue 1, scoring four goals and adding two assists in 14 appearances before his move, output that had him being talked about as one of the more promising young forwards in France. All four of his league goals came in front of his own fans, and his performances were enough to catch the eye of scouts well beyond Marseille.
At Roma, he arrives as back-up and a long-term option in a forward line light on numbers following the injuries to Dovbyk and Ferguson. Gasperini is reported to have had reservations about throwing a teenager into a struggling team immediately, with suggestions he would have preferred a loan to Serie B to ease Vaz in, but the club's hand was forced by the lack of fit strikers. How much game time he gets in the short term will depend on how those injury situations develop and how quickly he adapts to Serie A.
Either way, this is a deal built as much around potential as immediate need. Roma have paid a significant fee for a player with only half a season of senior football behind him, banking on him growing into the sort of centre-forward who can lead the line for years rather than just plug a gap this season.