Bologna's attempt to retain Jonathan Rowe has taken a complicated turn. The club's chief executive confirmed this week that the 23-year-old Bologna forward has already paid a fine — the nature of which is tied to his conduct — and that the rossoblù are actively trying to keep him. The statement of intent is clear enough. Whether it is sufficient is another matter entirely.
The timing is awkward. Rowe was sent off for violent conduct in Bologna's pre-season opener against Arminia Bielefeld, a 4-0 defeat that left new head coach Domenico Tedesco with an immediate disciplinary problem to manage alongside the tactical one. The dismissal came before half-time, leaving Bologna to play the majority of the match a man down. That the fine has now been settled suggests the club and player are at least communicating constructively, but it does not resolve the broader question of where Rowe spends the 2026-27 season.
That question has been live all summer. English clubs have circled, and the interest has not dissipated. Bologna finished 2025-26 in eighth place with 55 points from 37 matches — a respectable mid-table position under Vincenzo Italiano, but not the kind of platform that makes it easy to resist a serious offer for a player with genuine upside. Rowe contributed three goals and two assists across 27 Serie A appearances last season, averaging a rating of 6.80. His AI profile — 71 overall, with a ceiling assessed at 78 — marks him as a player still ascending, which is precisely what makes him attractive to clubs with greater resources and precisely why Bologna want to hold on.
The complication is that Tedesco has inherited a squad in transition. LucumÃ, the Colombian defender, is the subject of concrete interest from Juventus, with the club's own administration acknowledging a promise has been made regarding his future. Losing both Lucumà and Rowe in the same window would strip the squad of two of its more marketable assets before Tedesco has had a single competitive match to establish his methods.
For Rowe specifically, the red card is an irritant rather than a defining moment — pre-season friendlies carry no competitive weight — but the optics of a violent conduct dismissal in a coach's first game are not ideal for a player already under transfer scrutiny. How Tedesco handles the situation, and how Rowe responds to it, will say something about whether the relationship has a future in Bologna or whether the fine is simply the last piece of administrative tidying before a departure.
Bologna are trying to hold their ground. The next few weeks will determine whether that effort holds.