Emanuele Lulli has become one of the cornerstones of Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma, and the club are now working on a new contract to avoid a repeat of the Calafiori case. Roma's ability to blend winning football with youth was on show against Genoa on Saturday evening, when seven players born after 2003 started the match: Koulierakis, Rensch, Pisilli, Lulli, Mora, Soulé and Castro. Castro scored a goal in the style of Francesco Totti, having been encouraged by the former captain to try it. The starting XI had an average age of 24 years and 362 days, including the late debut of Di Nunzio, according to Francesco Balzani writing in Leggo.
The approach also sends a clear signal about the second team the Friedkin Group want to create. Lulli is the clearest example. A Palestrina native born on 17 August 2007, he was watching Roma's senior side on television only five months ago. Today he is a key figure for Gasperini, and on Saturday, after scoring his first Serie A goal, he ran to embrace the coach. He was consistently the most impressive performer in physical and athletic testing, including during the summer preparation. That led to his promotion, his first friendly matches and his debut against Fiorentina. Lulli is now following in the footsteps of other "romani de Roma" who helped build the club.
His contract runs until 2027, and the parties are already working to increase his salary and extend the deal for as long as possible, in order to avoid another situation like Calafiori's.
Testo Originale / Source Text
“Bella, giovane, affamata. Ma soprattutto vincente. La Roma di Gasperini dà spettacolo nel presente ma prepara anche un grande futuro. Fin qui, infatti, la squadra giallorossa è la big che ha impiegato più under 23 insieme al Como tra le squadre considerate top in serie A. L'esempio più lampante è…”
Read the full article in Italian at Forza Roma.
