David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano have established themselves as football’s undisputed transfer kings. Once the season ends and the transfer window opens, the two reporters are must-follows on social media for anyone with an insatiable appetite for breaking news.
They get more scoops than anyone else in the business, but which of them has the more impressive track record? We have highlighted 10 notable transfers whereby Ornstein beat Romano to the punch.
Football obsessives come in all kinds of varieties. For some, they will never forget where they were when their club secured a much-coveted trophy. Others have their exact vantage point of an iconic goal burned into their retinas. But for a particularly modern type of football fan, they will always remember refreshing their Twitter feed and getting an ‘Ornstein bomba’ of a particularly juicy piece of transfer gossip.
Football in the 2020s is a bit weird, isn’t it?
Rice to Arsenal is one of those moments, and it was Ornstein who broke the news. At exactly 11:00 pm on June 27th, 2023, The Athletic’s top transfer sleuth announced the Gunners had made a British transfer record bid to West Ham for the midfielder. Romano followed suit sixteen minutes later.
On June 2nd, Ornstein broke the exclusive news that the Brentford forward favoured a move to Manchester United over the likes of Newcastle United, Tottenham, and Arsenal, all of whom showed interest. Romano tweeted out the same story exactly 20 minutes later.
The writing had been on the wall for McTominay’s Old Trafford exit throughout the summer 2024 transfer window, but it was Ornstein who exclusively revealed that Manchester United and Napoli had come to an agreement for the midfielder late in August. Romano tweeted out the same news just two minutes later that same afternoon.
Regarding the Leeds forward, Ornstein announced that Brighton had met the release clause for the club’s fan favourite forward. Romano waited until the following afternoon before corroborating the story.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe appeared to leave the door open for Greenwood to be reintegrated at his parent club following his loan away to Getafe in 2023-24, but it soon transpired that the academy graduate would be sold, and it was Ornstein who first broke the story of his eventual destination, Marseille. Romano had posted frequently about Greenwood, but he was behind his colleague on this particular scoop.
Not long after Ornstein revealed a defender was making the switch from one London club to another, Romano followed and once again credited his fellow reporter. This story demonstrated Ornstein has his ear to the ground across the country.
In early August 2024, Ornstein broke the story that Manchester United had submitted a double bid to bolster Erik ten Hag’s defence. Romano gave regular updates on negotiations between the two clubs, but he credited Ornstein’s exclusive story.
On June 27th, 2024, Ornstein tweeted that Chelsea contacted Leicester City to express interest in signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, noting the 25-year-old midfielder was keen to join only Chelsea if he left Leicester.
He added that the player was seen as a perfect fit for the style of play under head coach Enzo Maresca.
The following day, he exclusively revealed that Chelsea had actually bid for Dewsbury-Hall, and a few days later, the transfer went through. Just 13 minutes after another scoop, Romano posted the same news while crediting Ornstein for getting there first. We await developments on a final, currently unnamed transfer story; Ornstein hasn’t said this one is happening for sure, just that it is on the cards, while Romano has remained conspicuously silent.
The Gazza against Germany of transfer stories. Agonisingly close.
