Dortmund prepares fresh bid for Soulé as Roma pursues capital gains before June deadline

Gian Piero Gasperini has taken direct control of Roma's transfer strategy and market operations, signalling the club is targeting a title challenge rather than mere consolidation. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, the head coach made clear his expectations: addressing Çelik's status with a pointed "thank you for your contribution, but we can find better", urging a renewal for Pellegrini, and criticising Soulé's condition after a month and a half away from competitive football, with the winger set to depart. Gasperini's dialogue with the club operates without intermediaries this time, a marked shift from last season's mediation structure. His partnership with director of sport D'Amico is described as total and unified. Roma's transfer activity—including the ongoing Nusa-Summerville pursuit—reflects the head coach's stated aim to transform the club's competitive scope. Speaking to the board, Gasperini employed both encouragement and pressure: "We are slow, we could move faster, but once the engine is in motion, it runs well." The implication is clear: if Roma's pending market moves materialise, the club must recalibrate its ambitions upwards.

Roma are working simultaneously on two alternative attacking targets for the left flank and could make a final decision imminently. Gasperini and the sporting director D'Amico are actively pursuing both Nusa and Summerville, with the Norwegian reportedly the profile that better fits the coach's overall vision and long-term ideas. For Nusa, discussions with both his club and representatives have progressed and a decisive move to resolve final details could arrive today. For West Ham's Summerville, the financial gap has narrowed on both player and club sides. Roma will not exceed the salary ceiling it has set for wages—nothing that surpasses what the squad that brought Roma back to European ambition earns—with a possible agreement on 4 or 4.5 million euros annually and approximately 45 million to the London club to reach the level of the player's release clause, which can be activated by midnight today. Talks continue but Roma have not yet entered a decisive phase, though time is pressing given Summerville's admirers in the Premier League. Summerville has a friend at Roma in Donyell Malen. Meanwhile, Chelsea talks over Garnacho have been put on hold; Roma want a loan deal while the Blues prefer a permanent transfer or early monetisation guarantee. Separately, Koné and Soulé remain possible sale candidates to balance the financial fair play requirements, though no formal offers have yet arrived at the training ground.

Roma have made contact with West Ham over Dutch winger Summerville, with head coach Gasperini personally calling the player to persuade him to move to the Stadio Olimpico. Summerville has shown willingness to join the capital club, but West Ham rejected Roma's initial offer of €40 million plus €5 million in bonuses. The London club is holding out for €50 million, forcing Roma to increase their proposal. The Friedkin Group must now decide whether to raise their bid to meet West Ham's valuation. Roma face competition from Aston Villa, who received £117 million from Chelsea for the sale of Rogers. Gasperini's direct involvement in the pursuit underscores the importance Roma place on landing Summerville, though the decision on whether to match West Ham's asking price ultimately rests with the club's ownership.

AS Roma earned over 1 million dollars from FIFA's Club Benefits Programme during the 2026 World Cup, ranking sixth among Serie A sides in total club payments. The FIFA scheme, run jointly with the European Football Clubs association, distributed 355 million dollars (300 million euros) to compensate clubs for releasing players to international duty. Each club received a minimum of approximately 5,000 dollars per day (4,300 euros) for every player loaned to their national federation. Roma fielded five players across the tournament held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico: Evan N'Dicka, Zeki Çelik, Neil El Aynaoui, Manu Koné, and Donyell Malen. These five accumulated 211 days of competition, generating 1.055 million dollars for the club. Milan topped Serie A's earnings with over 2.3 million dollars from ten players, followed by Atalanta (1.6 million from eight players) and Inter (1.55 million from seven). Juventus collected 1.2 million and Bologna 1 million. Among individual Roma players, Koné was the most valuable, earning 280,000 dollars for the club—second only to Lautaro Martinez of Inter and Nico Paz of Como, who each generated 285,000 dollars.

Zeki Çelik's unexpected departure has created an urgent tactical void at Roma, forcing the club to completely revise its transfer strategy. The Turkish defender's exit has left head coach Gian Piero Gasperini short-handed across both full-back positions and the centre-back line, with only Daniele Ghilardi and Jan Ziółkowski available as backup defenders. The current starting trio of Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso cannot carry the entire defensive load alone, prompting the sporting director to accelerate recruitment across multiple fronts. Roma is now actively pursuing two external fullbacks and a central defender to shore up the squad. Dodo of Fiorentina remains a hot target, valued at over €15 million, alongside the versatile Carlos Augusto and Diego Moreira of Strasbourg, for whom a gap persists between Roma's €30 million offer and the French club's higher demands. Fenerbahçe centre-back Oosterwolde has moved back into focus as a priority signing to bolster a defence suddenly bereft of depth and certainty following Çelik's surprise exit.

Gianluca Mancini is on the verge of signing a contract extension that will bind him to Roma until 2029, with only official confirmation outstanding. The defender has already signalled his intention to stay by posting a message on social media featuring himself, the Curva Sud, and nothing else—a deliberate statement of his bond with the club's supporters who have made him one of their symbols. Mancini is preparing for his eighth season in a Roma shirt, a campaign he views as special given the club's return to the Champions League. He intends to play a leading role in that European run, anchoring the defence alongside Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso. The renewal underscores his desire to remain at the Stadio Olimpico despite interest from other suitors, cementing a relationship that has grown far beyond the pitch.