Mora and the Gasperini Blueprint: How the Coach Can Develop Him into a Star

Roma continues to struggle in finding an attacking left winger, prompting head coach Gian Piero Gasperini to evaluate a significant tactical overhaul for the 2026–27 season. High costs and a lack of suitable profiles have left the position unfilled despite sustained efforts, pushing the club to consider a strategic change in formation. The proposal would move away from two attacking midfielders supporting a single striker toward a system with one attacking midfielder behind two forwards. This tactical shift would align with Roma's recent recruitment priorities, including reported interest in players such as Rodrigo Mora and Endrick. With attacking options like Donyell Malen, a forward identified as Castro, and Robinio Vaz already in the squad, alongside creative midfielders of the calibre of Paulo Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini, Roma would have the versatility to reshape its attacking setup to suit the strengths of its available players and adapt the system to their characteristics.

Inter are open to selling Brazilian winger Luis Henrique this summer, with the Serie A club seeking offers around €30 million. The 24-year-old, under contract until June 2030 on an annual gross salary of €4.07 million, has attracted interest from multiple Premier League clubs alongside Roma's consideration of a move. Henrique's versatility—capable of playing as a wingback, creative winger on either flank, or attacking midfielder—makes him an attractive prospect. However, Roma may not prioritize his signing, particularly following the recent arrival of Nahuel Molina from Atlético Madrid, which addresses their wide defensive and attacking needs on the right. This positions Roma less urgently in the market, potentially weakening their negotiating leverage. Inter, meanwhile, would prefer to sell the Brazilian abroad rather than to a domestic rival, making England an increasingly likely destination. Bournemouth and Everton showed concrete interest in January and could yet pursue the winger further.

Roma's 3–0 defeat to Brighton two days ago fits a familiar pattern in Gasperini's pre-season preparation, a time of deliberately intense physical demands that typically produces poor results in August before the campaign begins. The coach and his staff design the summer workload with meticulous detail to ensure the squad reaches peak condition by the opening day of the season, a process that has consistently included a dip in form in the two weeks immediately before the league starts. This is not an isolated incident. Last summer, on 6 August 2025, Roma suffered a 4–0 loss away to Aston Villa with the season set to begin two weeks later. The pattern repeated at Atalanta, Gasperini's previous club. On 4 August 2024, during his final season in Bergamo, Atalanta lost 4–1 to Parma before winning 4–0 against Lecce on the opening day. Further back, on 5 August 2023 during Atalanta's Europa League–winning campaign, the side conceded four goals to Union Berlin while scoring one, then opened their Serie A campaign with a 2–0 win over Sassuolo. These results demonstrate that for Gasperini's squads, August defeats reflect the athletic peak of pre-season work rather than genuine weakness—a negative period designed to deliver physical fitness by the time the new season kicks off in a couple of weeks.