Roma eye permanent deal for defender Toloi

Rio de Janeiro, May 3 (IANS) Sao Paulo admitted they may be forced to sell highly rated defender Rafael Toloi to Italian football club AS Roma.

The 23-year-old joined the Giallorossi on a six-month loan in January and has impressed in his last three starts for the Italian Serie A club, reports Xinhua.

Sao Paulo vice-president Ataide Gil Guerrero Friday admitted he was at pains to let go of the centre-back.

"We await the return of Toloi, we do not have players in the squad capable of replacing him," Guerrero was quoted as saying by Brazilian football news portal Sambafoot.

"The problem is that in the last matches with Roma, he played well and they now might be willing to buy him. We must wait."

Toloi, who represented Brazil 19 times at under-20 level, made 41 first-team appearances for Sao Paulo in two seasons.