Baldini criticises Italian football leadership, calls for serious administrators

Evan N'Dicka has spoken about his experience playing in the Champions League and his relationship with José Mourinho, reflecting on Roma's ambitions for the season ahead. The full interview will be published tomorrow. N'Dicka also commented on Roma's aims to improve on last season's performance. The defender, who joined Roma in July 2023 from Eintracht Frankfurt, has established himself as a key figure in the club's defence under the current coaching setup. The complete exclusive interview with N'Dicka will be available tomorrow on the publication's platform.

Mario Hermoso praised Roma's performance in a friendly against Newport County, highlighting a strong second-half display. The defender played in an unfamiliar role but felt comfortable alongside his teammates. "Yes, we had a great match, especially in the second half. At the start they pressed hard, it was more difficult. For me it was a role quite different from usual, but I felt good with my teammates. The important thing is to win: it brings confidence ahead of the next matches," Hermoso said. Hermoso acknowledged that Roma are still awaiting arrival of new players to complete the squad. He backed the club's recruitment strategy, noting that the sporting director and board handle transfer decisions while the players focus on their preparation. "We are a strong team, we are united, we want to do great things," he explained, adding: "All the teammates who arrive to fight with us are welcome." When asked about Castro and Koulierakis specifically, Hermoso described them as ambitious young players joining a squad that had a strong season last year. "They are important pieces to perform well in the league, Champions League and Coppa Italia," he said. Hermoso stressed Roma's commitment to working toward a major season and competing across all competitions.

Mario Hermoso spoke to the media on 4 August, emphasising Roma's unity and commitment to the head coach's tactical demands. The defender stated: "When we are united and have the right mentality we can do great things and we have proved that." Hermoso indicated that responsibility for bringing in reinforcements rests with the sporting director, while the squad concentrates on executing Gian Piero Gasperini's instructions on the pitch. The comments come as Roma prepare for the new season under Gasperini. Hermoso, who joined Roma last summer on a free transfer from Atlético Madrid, has settled into his role in the defensive line and is focused on team cohesion. His remarks suggest the squad are ready to embrace Gasperini's tactical philosophy, though the club continues to work on strengthening the squad in the coming days.

Alessio Cacciamani, a 19-year-old from Jesi, has made a smooth transition from Torino's youth academy to professional football after an impressive loan spell this season at Juve Stabia in Serie B under manager Abate. Originally a left-winger who scored 12 goals in Under 18 competition in the 2023–24 season, Cacciamani was repositioned as a left-wing-back by Abate to exploit his offensive progression, stamina and physical resilience. The conversion required tactical refinement to develop a defensive phase befitting the role, though his primary strengths remain offensive. The 2007-born midfielder has represented Italy at youth level, earning 10 appearances in Under 19 and one in Under 21. His pathway has intersected with Roma's academy prospects: he faced Niccolò Pisilli and Cherubini at youth level, with both playing alongside him in Italy's 4–0 Under 21 victory over Macedonia in March 2026. Most notably, Cacciamani and Pisilli were both included in Baldini's senior Italy squad for the friendly against Greece on 7 June 2026, marking a convergence of two young talents on the international stage despite their youth and separate club circumstances.

Roma trained in Wales on the fourth day of their pre-season camp on 4 August, with the squad set to face Newport later that evening at 19:00 local time (20:00 Italian time). Wesley has recovered from a right ankle problem and completed the full session with the group, putting him in contention for tonight's friendly. Head coach Gasperini will decide whether to risk the Brazilian forward in the match. Niccolò Pisilli remained absent from training. Neil El Aynaoui also returned to group training after resolving a minor left knee issue and is ready to feature. CEO Galantic attended the session at the camp. Wesley's availability provides a significant boost to Roma's attacking options for the friendly, having been sidelined by the ankle injury in preceding days.

Neil El Aynaoui is pushing hard to establish himself as a key figure in Gasperini's Roma midfield. After a mixed previous season that saw him instrumental in the club's late Champions League push, the midfielder returned from Morocco's World Cup campaign with a minor left knee problem but has integrated fully into group training. To accelerate his fitness, he completes additional solo running sessions around the club's training base, working under close supervision from Gasperini's staff. In a behind-closed-doors match two days ago, El Aynaoui scored twice—once with a header from a Cherubini cross and once from distance—as he competes for regular minutes. El Aynaoui arrived from Lens with a goalscoring reputation, having netted 8 goals in 24 matches. Since joining Roma he has managed only two goals—one in Serie A and one in the Europa League—a return that falls short of expectation. Aston Villa has enquired about him, but his future remains with the Giallorossi. Gasperini faces midfield injury problems: Bah has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture, Pisilli is still unavailable, and Koné is expected back only on 10 August. Manchester United continue to pursue Koné without having made a concrete move, but El Aynaoui is determined to climb the hierarchy and carve out a leading role in Roma's midfield.

Roma's attacking department has been decimated ahead of the 2026–27 season, with coach Gian Piero Gasperini now overseeing just five senior forwards for the role — down from ten options at the end of January. The remaining quartet consists of Donyell Malen, Paulo Dybala, Matías Soulé, and Robinio Vaz, with young prospect Arena also available. The collapse mirrors Gasperini's repeated public calls for investment in attack. Speaking exactly a year ago on 4 August 2025 at the English national team's St. George Park facility in Burton Upon Trent, Gasperini outlined his philosophy: "It concerns all clubs that spend large sums on attackers. The offensive department is the most sought after and most expensive. Teams with strong attacking players are more competitive." That same summer, Roma pursued Fabio Silva and Jadon Sancho without success, settling on a loan move for Romain Bailey as a last-minute solution. By the end of 2025, Roma had assembled eight attacking options — Dybala, Artem Dovbyk, Evan Ferguson, Bailey, Soulé, Baldanzi, Stephan El Shaarawy, and Lorenzo Pellegrini — to fill three positions in Gasperini's preferred 3-4-2-1 formation. The winter transfer window swelled that number to ten through the departures of Bailey and Baldanzi and the arrivals of Malen, Vaz, Bryan Zaragoza, and Lorenzo Venturino. However, only Malen performed consistently. With just twenty days until the league campaign begins, Roma faces a critical shortage. The club is reportedly making another approach for Nusa and preparing a move for Fofana to bolster the depleted ranks.

Roma find themselves in unexpected stasis on the transfer market one month before their Serie A opener against Fiorentina, hampered by slow planning, a complex summer constrained by Settlement Agreement rules, and difficulty delivering the reinforcements Gian Piero Gasperini has requested. As of late July, Roma had completed zero signings and just one minor departure, leaving six players from last season's squad still to be replaced: El Shaarawy, Ferguson, Tsimikas, Celik, Venturino, and Zaragoza. The club also has several players ready to depart—Salah-Eddine, Kumbulla, and Dovbyk among them—while others including Soulé and Koné remain uncertain. Contract complications surround Dybala, and Pellegrini's position requires clarification. Delays stem from structural issues worsened by Tony D'Amico's late arrival as sporting director, who became operational only in the final ten days of June following a dispute with Atalanta, compounded by World Cup scheduling and Settlement Agreement restrictions. Gasperini intends to compete at the highest level while preserving the squad's core and adding only a few elite signings. Roma pursued Mason Greenwood and Luis Summerville at length, becoming committed to the Dutch player beyond their budgeted limits before the deal collapsed entirely.

Roma are pursuing Summerville to fill the most glaring weakness in Gian Piero Gasperini's tactical system. The club has identified a right-footed attacking winger—capable of playing as a trequartista or winger on the left—as the top priority for the new season, with sporting director D'Amico now working alongside Gasperini to address the gap. The void has persisted for seasons. Throughout August, the club sought a loan deal for a right-footed attacking option without success, pursuing targets including Fabio Silva (who remained at his club with one year remaining on his contract) and Jadon Sancho via videoconference. January brought only unsuccessful temporary deals for Bryan Zaragoza and Lorenzo Venturino, alongside the unproven centre-forward gamble of Robinio Vaz, signed for €25 million. Summerville's arrival would finally remedy what has been an obvious deficiency in Roma's attacking setup under Gasperini.