Friedkin ready to accelerate Roma rebuild with Gasperini and Champions League as cornerstones

Antonio Arena, Roma's young striker born in 2009, has spoken about his journey from Australia to Italian football in an interview with Vivo Azzurro. The 14-year-old Academy product began playing football at five in Australia, where both his parents were born; his grandparents are from Calabria. He moved to Europe at 14 for trials across the continent before joining Pescara, where he spent seven months on the bench before his father encouraged him to stay. "My father came with me to Italy," Arena said. "Without him, I would probably have gone back. It was difficult at first. Baldini called me to train with them one day because an attacker was missing, and from then on I stayed with them almost always. I was on the bench for 7 months. I wanted to play but I wasn't ready. I improved a lot with him." Arena recently scored for Roma against Torino in what he described as a shock. "A special evening, I was delighted, I didn't expect to play," he recalled. "Wesley's cross comes in, then the header and I don't even remember it properly — it all happened so fast. Pity about the result but it was a special night. I didn't believe it. My father told me I'd been good but that I should keep my head down and keep working." The striker has represented Italy at U17, U18 and U19 level. On his ambitions, Arena said: "My dream is to be as strong a player as possible. I want to play in the Champions League, win World Cups and Euros with Italy. I want to be among the best strikers. I want to get there."

Jayden Oosterwolde arrived in Rome with all the ceremony of a completed signing — meeting fans, heading to the training ground, undergoing medical checks. An official announcement, photoshoot and first interview were ready. Then the deal collapsed. The medical examinations revealed serious concerns: several doctors flagged a high risk of surgery to the tendons of the Fenerbahçe defender. Fenerbahçe refused to negotiate a revised offer, and Roma swiftly sent Oosterwolde back. The club chose to abandon the transfer rather than proceed with the risk. The outcome is unusual but not unprecedented in Serie A. Milan faced a similar situation with Mateta; Lazio with Bamba Dieng. Roma's own history holds comparable examples. Six months into another transfer saga, Milik encountered the same fate with Napoli: full agreement reached, then detailed instrumental checks in Switzerland on the Polish striker's knees — he had undergone two previous cruciate ligament surgeries — prompted Roma's hierarchy to harbour serious doubts about his rehabilitation timeline, ultimately breaking the deal. Unlike Oosterwolde's public arrival, that negotiation remained behind closed doors. The 2024 case of Tiago Djalo offers another parallel. The Juventus defender's transfer to Roma collapsed on 30 August, in the final days of the transfer window, despite having already completed his medical with the club. Roma hesitated, unconvinced by the deal, leaving Djalo confined to a hotel. After two days, the player chose to return to Turin.

Roma are working to complete their squad in the final days of the transfer window. Head coach Gasperini has made clear that while new arrivals have impressed, further effort is needed to expand a squad requiring quality alternatives in every position to compete in all three competitions. With the wage bill and amortisation costs calculated to the last cent, Roma are being selective in their recruitment. A move for Kessie has been ruled out due to his salary demands, while discussions with Fenerbahce over Oosterwolde have stalled without a new agreement being reached. Ziółkowski is set to leave, but only if Roma secure a replacement first; interest in Morato has cooled. Nayef Aguerd, born 1996 and currently at Marseille, is on the club's list as a loan option. Monaco's Kehrer is also being assessed.

Roma prepare for Monday's trip to Lecce with three days to go, with Gian Piero Gasperini having almost the full squad available. Devyne Rensch and Lorenzo Pellegrini are out; Rensch did not train today and will attempt to recover for the Atalanta fixture on 5 September at 20:45. Robinio Vaz also missed training as a precaution, with his move to Hull City on an incoming loan (€2 million with a €30 million purchase option) increasingly likely. Nahuel Molina has recovered fully and will compete with Lulli for the right-wing spot, while Wesley is ready on the opposite flank. The midfield sees a duel between Rodrigo Mora and Matías Soulé for a trequartista role, with Donyell Malen and Paulo Dybala paired up front. Roma seek their second consecutive victory.

Roma travel to Lecce on Monday 31 August at 18:30 for the second round of Serie A 2026–27, aiming to build on a commanding 4–0 opening-day victory over Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has injury concerns ahead of the fixture at the Stadio Via del Mare: Devyne Rensch is sidelined with a strain to the left thigh flexor, and Lorenzo Pellegrini remains unavailable as he continues his recovery from a right thigh rectus femoris injury. Gasperini is expected to field a settled defensive shape with Mile Svilar in goal and a back three of Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso. Nahuel Molina's availability is being assessed; if he cannot play, Giorgio De Marzi will step in after an impressive display against Fiorentina. Wesley continues at left wing-back. Bryan Cristante is assured of his midfield place alongside Manu Koné. In the attacking third, the main selection question concerns Rodrigo Mora and Matías Soulé; Mora started against Fiorentina and impressed, forcing a good save from De Gea, while Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen are primed to lead the line. Malen was the star of Roma's opening fixture, scoring three goals and supplying three assists against Fiorentina, while Dybala also contributed three assists. Niccolò Pisilli rounded off the rout with Roma's fourth goal. The visitors hold a commanding historical record: across 42 meetings with Lecce, Roma have won 29, drawn 11 and lost only twice. The clubs last met in the 2025–26 season, when Roma won 1–0 at home through Robinio Vaz. Lecce arrive after an away victory over Venezia (2–0, goals from Gorter and Tiago Gabriel) and will play in a 4–3–3 formation under manager Eusebio Di Francesco. The match will be broadcast live on DAZN, Sky Sport and NOW. Official team sheets will be released approximately one hour before kickoff.

Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini will address the media on Sunday at 13:30, the day before the club's second Serie A fixture of the season away at Lecce on Monday at 18:30. The appointment comes after Roma's convincing opening victory against Fiorentina. Gasperini faces few selection dilemmas ahead of the Lecce match. Devyne Rensch remains unavailable, but Nahuel Molina has recovered and will compete with Lulli for a place in the squad. On the attacking midfield line, Rodrigo Mora is favoured over Matías Soulé to operate behind forwards Donyell Malen and Paulo Dybala.

The relationship between head coach Gian Piero Gasperini and sporting director Ricky Massara deteriorated throughout the 2025–26 season, marked by clashing views on transfer strategy, public criticism and mounting friction that became irreparable. Massara, who felt treated as an amateur despite his substantial track record, endured difficult months in silence, though tension grew steadily. The conflict began last summer during negotiations for Sancho and Fabio Silva, then escalated in late August when Massara said "Sancho at the moment remains a suggestion because I don't think there are the conditions or the motivations," while Gasperini later replied: "Sancho never refused Roma." The situation exploded in early September during a heated discussion at Fulvio Bernardini, where Gasperini accused Massara of being too slow in negotiations, dismissing the restrictions imposed by Financial Fair Play and inherited difficulties. Disputes over specific targets fuelled the rift further: Gasperini's veto on Raspadori, his preference for Malen over Zirkzee, and disagreements over Robinio Vaz. The breakdown continued from a distance after Massara moved to Juventus, with the director's pursuit of Zeki Çelik irritating Roma while Gasperini attempted to insert himself into the Juventus deal for Kessié. The definitive rupture came in spring, when Gasperini rejected Kerim Alajbegovic and made his position clear: having secured the departure of Ranieri, he wanted Massara gone as well to remain at Roma.

Kostas Tsimikas could be offered a fresh chance in Serie A after his difficult spell at Roma. The left-back has returned to Liverpool but has caught the attention of Juventus, who are searching for a deputy to Cambiaso. Massara, who brought Tsimikas to Roma last summer, could reunite with the defender at Turin. According to Corriere dello Sport, Juventus view Tsimikas as a low-cost option to strengthen their defence. The move would also reunite him with Zeki Çelik, who transferred to Juventus in early July. Tsimikas arrived at Roma on loan from Liverpool ahead of the 2025–26 season but struggled during his time in the capital.

Emanuele Lulli made his Serie A debut in Roma's 4–0 victory over Fiorentina on 24 August 2026, delivering numbers that exceeded the seasonal average of predecessor Zeki Çelik. The 19-year-old academy product recorded four successful tackles, 56 touches, 86.5% pass accuracy, seven duels won out of ten, and a decisive recovery that led to Donyell Malen's goal for the 3–0. In the 2025–26 season, Çelik averaged a rating between 6.7 and 7.0 with roughly two tackles per 90 minutes and solid passing precision; Lulli's intensity and physicality in his opening match surpassed that baseline. The comparison extends beyond statistics. Çelik managed play with experience and positional sense across four years in the shirt; Lulli brought the aggressive, tireless profile that Gasperini has consistently sought in his wide defenders—more in the mould of a pressing, high-intensity fullback than a controlled operator. Gasperini's system rewards corsa, aggressiveness and constant covering rather than refined crossing. Çelik departed for Juventus without generating significant regret, but a Palestrina and Trigoria academy graduate has now demonstrated, at least in raw output, superior performance to the departed player's average. Lulli remains incomplete. He must improve his ball management and the quality of his final pass. He showed no signs of being overwhelmed by the context and contributed concretely to Roma's cause. The performance serves as more than tactical encouragement: it reinforces a working principle that the academy, when given proper development and managerial backing, can generate solutions better suited to Gasperini's model than external recruitment alone.

Roma prepare for Monday's trip to Lecce with three days to go, with Gian Piero Gasperini having almost the full squad available. Devyne Rensch and Lorenzo Pellegrini are out; Rensch did not train today and will attempt to recover for the Atalanta fixture on 5 September at 20:45. Robinio Vaz also missed training as a precaution, with his move to Hull City on an incoming loan (€2 million with a €30 million purchase option) increasingly likely. Nahuel Molina has recovered fully and will compete with Lulli for the right-wing spot, while Wesley is ready on the opposite flank. The midfield sees a duel between Rodrigo Mora and Matías Soulé for a trequartista role, with Donyell Malen and Paulo Dybala paired up front. Roma seek their second consecutive victory.

Roma travel to Lecce on Monday 31 August at 18:30 for the second round of Serie A 2026–27, aiming to build on a commanding 4–0 opening-day victory over Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has injury concerns ahead of the fixture at the Stadio Via del Mare: Devyne Rensch is sidelined with a strain to the left thigh flexor, and Lorenzo Pellegrini remains unavailable as he continues his recovery from a right thigh rectus femoris injury. Gasperini is expected to field a settled defensive shape with Mile Svilar in goal and a back three of Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso. Nahuel Molina's availability is being assessed; if he cannot play, Giorgio De Marzi will step in after an impressive display against Fiorentina. Wesley continues at left wing-back. Bryan Cristante is assured of his midfield place alongside Manu Koné. In the attacking third, the main selection question concerns Rodrigo Mora and Matías Soulé; Mora started against Fiorentina and impressed, forcing a good save from De Gea, while Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen are primed to lead the line. Malen was the star of Roma's opening fixture, scoring three goals and supplying three assists against Fiorentina, while Dybala also contributed three assists. Niccolò Pisilli rounded off the rout with Roma's fourth goal. The visitors hold a commanding historical record: across 42 meetings with Lecce, Roma have won 29, drawn 11 and lost only twice. The clubs last met in the 2025–26 season, when Roma won 1–0 at home through Robinio Vaz. Lecce arrive after an away victory over Venezia (2–0, goals from Gorter and Tiago Gabriel) and will play in a 4–3–3 formation under manager Eusebio Di Francesco. The match will be broadcast live on DAZN, Sky Sport and NOW. Official team sheets will be released approximately one hour before kickoff.

Roma return to the Champions League after eight years with a curious contradiction: a squad seasoned in European competition but largely inexperienced in the continent's top tier. Under Gian Piero Gasperini, the giallorossi have navigated knockout stages, difficult away trips and high-pressure evenings in recent seasons, yet a significant portion of the squad presents as Champions League debutants when their record in the competition itself is examined. The drawn opponents—Real Madrid, PSG, Manchester United, Sporting, Lille, Fenerbahçe, Slovan Bratislava and AEK Atene—underscore the magnitude of the step up. Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen stand as the principal points of reference, each with around 50 Champions League appearances. Behind them Nahuel Molina brings roughly 40 such matches from his time at Atlético Madrid, followed by Mario Hermoso, equally accustomed to the highest level of European football. The picture shifts sharply thereafter. Bryan Cristante and Lorenzo Pellegrini have played in the Champions League, though Roma's last participation dates back to the 2018–19 season. Other squad members have sampled the competition only briefly, while a substantial portion will encounter it for the first time. Key players such as Manu Koné, Wesley, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Niccolò Pisilli and Santiago Castro have either never played it or collected minimal appearances. Yet Roma should not be labelled a European-inexperienced side. The club built a genuine identity in the cups: Cristante, Pellegrini, Gianluca Mancini, Mile Svilar and the core nucleus lived through the Conference League triumph in 2022, the Europa League final of 2023 and numerous knockout campaigns. Dybala, Evan N'Dicka, Koné, Pisilli and Matías Soulé have progressively accumulated international experience outside the Champions League but in matches where pressure, emotional control and reading momentum matter most. Here lies the true uncertainty: Roma possesses European aptitude but lacks a true Champions League identity. Errors recoverable in Europa League risk becoming instant goals against Real Madrid and PSG. The new League Phase format demands Gasperini navigate eight different fixtures without building a classic group-stage rhythm. The task ahead is not to teach Roma what a European night means, but to elevate what they have learned over five years.