Jack Rodwell is due in Italy ahead of a shock move to AS Roma.

According to the Daily Mail, the midfielder will arrive in the Italian capital with a view to signing a short-term deal until the end of the season with the Italian giants.

Wow.

Rodwell was considered one of England's next big prospects during his teenage years but his career has been on a downward trajectory for some time now.

He is currently a free agent after leaving Blackburn Rovers earlier this year.

Now 28, Rodwell will undergo a series of fitness tests over the next 48 hours before Roma make a final decision.

The Serie A giants are facing an injury crisis but nobody would have thought that former Everton and Manchester City player Rodwell would be the one to solve it.

Roma are monitoring free agents with a view to strengthening their squad and Rodwell's top-level experience in the Premier League makes him an appealing option to Roma.

He wouldn't be the only Englishman at the club after Chris Smalling joined from Manchester United in the summer.

And he would become the fourth Brit in history to join Roma. John Charles (1962-63) and Ashley Cole (2014-16) also appeared for the Serie A club.

Rodwell became an unpopular figure at Sunderland as he became an outcast under manager Chris Coleman while continuing to pocket £70,000-per-week.

Rodwell was a part of the Sunderland side that was relegation to the Championship in 2017 but the Black Cats didn't include a relegation wage-reduction clause in his deal when he signed.

He faced calls to leave the club to help them financially but insisted that was an unrealistic demand to make.

"I think it's unfair to ask that of a player," he said in an interview with the Daily Mail in 2018.

"It's not the fault of any footballer if a club decides to pay you a certain amount."

From playing for Sunderland's Under-23s to on the verge of joining Roma in less than two years. What a tale.