From Nusa to Summerville: Gasperini's Champions windfall opens ambitious market

Roma closed their British pre-season tour with a 3–0 defeat to Brighton at the American Express Stadium on 8 August, following earlier losses to Cardiff City and a win over Newport County. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini acknowledged a poor performance but stressed the squad's wider progress during the week's training in ideal conditions. Gasperini attributed some sluggishness to players returning from World Cup duty—N'Dicka, El Aynaoui, and Malen among them—and noted the squad felt disjointed as a collective. He highlighted Paulo Dybala's recovery and welcomed the imminent availability of Lorenzo Pellegrini, who becomes eligible to play in September after at least a month. On the transfer market, Gasperini said: "Numerically it seems to me that there is still a need for something, but you know." He pointed to changes already made—Molina arriving to replace Çelik (to be assessed on Tuesday), Castro coming in for Dovbyk, and Koulierakis joining to complete the defence—but emphasised that future signings depended on the club's chief executive. When asked about outgoing transfers, Gasperini deferred: "We have a chief executive, you should ask him these questions about what Roma can or cannot do. On numbers and market possibilities Roma passes to him." He noted D'Amico was pursuing "very young but also very important" players.

Manu Koné travelled to San Pedro del Pinatar in Murcia to visit his former club Toulouse while the French national team completed their summer training camp. The Roma midfielder posted on social media about the visit, saying: "When I was in the centre, I was told that once you wear the violet shirt, you become part of the Toulouse family forever. It was important to come back here, meet familiar faces and exchange with the new generation of pitchounes. Thank you all for the welcome, I wish you the best for this season." Koné is set to return to the centre of Gian Piero Gasperini's midfield after his international commitments. He is expected in Rome on Monday 10 August to begin pre-season preparation. The number 17 had been subject to market speculation linking him to Manchester United, but those reports have now been put to rest.

Torino president Urbano Cairo has reaffirmed his intention to keep left-back Alessio Cacciamani, a 2007-born player coveted by Roma. Speaking to Sky Sport, Cairo confirmed multiple clubs are pursuing the defender but expressed his desire to retain him. "I'm keeping him very close," Cairo said. "There is a lot of interest in him, not just from Roma. I would really like to keep him. Then we'll see how the market develops and how things end up. I don't want to say I'm 100% sure he will stay with us, but I hope to be able to do a series of other things so he can remain with us." The Torino chief acknowledged that Cacciamani's future depends on the club's ability to manage their finances. "It depends on the offers but also on the alternatives we have in outgoings," he said. "We need to do something, because otherwise an economically difficult situation opens up. So we need to do something in sales too, because so far we've done almost only incomings. I don't want to make empty promises—I would like Cacciamani to be with us all next year. We're working for that to happen." Cacciamani remains a target for Roma as the club prepares for a friendly against Brighton (kickoff 16:00 Italian time) in their final preseason test. Gasperini's side continue pursuing reinforcements in defence following the imminent arrival of Molina and Lorenzo Pellegrini's contract renewal.