D'Amico: Roma need a pacey winger, will look in January

Roma defender D'Amico has said the club must add a pacy external attacker, with the January transfer window the next opportunity to bring in that profile. Speaking ahead of Roma-Sassuolo, a Serie A match for matchday 11, he said the issue had become clear by the end of the summer transfer window. "Sicuramente questa è una problematica che a fine mercato abbiamo capito. Per caratteristiche manca un attaccante esterno di gamba di ripartenza, quindi certamente valuteremo le opportunità nel mercato di gennaio per portare questa nuova caratteristica al mister." The question of whether another wide attacker and further signings could fix Roma's problem with late comebacks was put to him directly. D'Amico's answer makes clear that the club sees a specific gap in its attacking options, one that the squad as it stands does not fill. On Manu Koné, D'Amico was asked whether the club had been in direct contact with the French national team. He replied: "Noi ci confrontiamo un po' con tutte le nazionali. Manu oggi rientra, ha fatto una settimana di allenamenti, il mister ha deciso di schierarlo perchè lo ha visto bene. Questa è la nona partita in 28 giorni e con Manu abbiamo la possibilità di far rifiatare i ragazzi che hanno speso tanto in queste partite." He said Koné returns today after a week of training, that the coach chose to field him because he had seen him in good shape, and that this is the club's ninth match in 28 days, with Koné giving tired players a chance to rest.

Sassuolo coach Aquilani spoke ahead of Roma v Sassuolo, a Serie A matchday 11 fixture, saying that coming back to the Stadio Olimpico as a coach is an emotional occasion for him. He said: "It's obvious this stadium means something important to me. I live five minutes from here, I dreamed of this stadium throughout my adolescence and I had the honour of playing here. Coming back as a coach has a nice feeling. It's obvious that my role obliges me to set this aspect aside a little, because I arrive in a rather low mood given our latest results, so we must look for every way to pick ourselves up and draw something from within, because we need it. We are aware that today we face a very, very strong team." Sassuolo are in a difficult run. Aquilani explained that they have lost four consecutive matches, and that the early-season results had created confidence before the sequence of defeats began. He said that losing one game and then another leaves a side chasing, and that the team's project is built on a style of play and a lightness the players need in order to express themselves. He added that if results do not come, everything becomes more complicated. Asked whether he had made tactical changes, Aquilani said he had changed "something small" so as not to abandon the side's identity, and had asked his players to do the things they believe in. He said the breaks have been going against his team, and that while the side can defend deep in its own box, "if you lack the moment, no formation holds." On the Roma threat, he said: "Roma have the best attack in the league, and at the moment we are suffering because we concede too many goals, so we have to find adjustments." He also called for a different competitive fury, saying: "otherwise you can put ten men behind the ball and still concede the same goal." On whether the team selection points to a Sassuolo side seeking more balance at the back, he said there is an adjustment in that area, but that individual awareness of danger, and concentration in certain zones of the pitch, matter as much as tactics. Asked whether a player can be trained to be more of a man than a footballer, he said that talking about it is already training, that eye contact matters more than work on the defensive phase alone, and that there is no way to certify it. He added that the game is about doing rather than saying, and that courage and personality are required. Aquilani said that the coming matches are ones the squad needs in order to grow, and that the team must bring the moments to their side, as in recent games the moment had been too easy for the opponents.

Evan N'Dicka says Roma are determined to close out this run of fixtures well, with three points the aim against Sassuolo in Serie A matchday 11. The defender described the game as important for the club as it looks to end a demanding spell of matches. Asked about the reasons behind the dip in form, including the defeat in Manchester, N'Dicka said the upcoming game is open and difficult, but that Roma are there to take the three points. He acknowledged that the side has been through a period of many matches in quick succession. When asked which aspect needs improving, N'Dicka said: "It can happen when you reach a point where you have many matches, you cannot control everything." His comments were made ahead of Roma against Sassuolo, a Serie A fixture on 7 November 2026.