Mora–Roma talks advance: fee and buyback clause close to agreement

Roma's sporting director D'Amico continues to pursue two positions ahead of the January transfer window after failing to complete moves during the summer window. The club's primary need remains an attacking winger, preferably left-footed, to operate on the left flank and provide depth, power and speed. The secondary target is a midfielder with left-sided capability who can add running, physicality and solidity to the squad. Gasperini's requests have been clear since the summer window closed. For the defensive winger role, D'Amico has identified Oosterwolde as the primary candidate. The Dutch player was sent to Istanbul by D'Amico following medical tests and is currently recovering from femoral tendon surgery, with his return to action targeted for the end of October. D'Amico is prepared to wait for Oosterwolde's recovery and will evaluate him in Fenerbahce's matches over the final two months of the year. The Roma director is unbothered by the timeline because Oosterwolde would become both the most defensive of Roma's wingers and the most structurally robust option. A loan deal can be arranged if he returns to full fitness. Looking further ahead to next season, D'Amico is also monitoring Bakola, a French midfielder born in 2007 at Sassuolo, and Kvernadze, a Georgian attacking winger born in 2003 at Frosinone. This mirrors the approach taken with Santiago Castro, who was under observation last winter before being acquired this summer.

Alessandro Romano, who grew up at Roma's Trigoria academy and made his Serie A debut under Gian Piero Gasperini, has become one of the club's most painful missed opportunities after departing on a permanent sale this summer. The midfielder, now 20, has impressed at Cagliari since his move and is already valued at 15–20 million euros by major Italian outlets—around four times the fee Roma will ultimately receive from the transfer. Roma signed Romano from Swiss club Winterthur in 2022 for 70,000 euros and developed him through their youth ranks. Gasperini gave him two brief Serie A appearances against Lecce and Sassuolo, then loaned him to Spezia for the second half of last season. This summer, however, financial pressures pushed the club to accept Cagliari's offer: a loan with an obligation to buy conditional on specific sporting targets, worth 5 million euros plus bonus payments rising to a maximum of 6.5 million. Crucially, Roma retained no future control over the player's registration. The decision was commercially rational but now reads poorly within months of the sale. At Cagliari, Romano has seized his opportunity immediately. He scored on his Serie A debut as a starter against Parma and has since attracted attention from Italy's national team. He is left-footed, technically clean, capable of playing in front of defence, and shows an unusual composure for his age, seeking vertical passes and reading situations quickly. Comparisons have already emerged; analyst Fabio Pisacane linked him to Kevin Strootman, while Davide Frattesi drew parallels to Nemanja Matic. Romano himself points to Rodri as his model. Unlike many young talents, he shows no rush for fame, only to improve—a quality that appears to be impressing observers most. Inter and Juventus are now monitoring him, alongside scouts from the Premier League. The press has suggested his value could rise sharply if his form continues. Romano says he did not experience Roma's decision as a personal slight and is content at Cagliari. For Roma, however, the transfer has opened a small wound that could grow much larger. Purchased for 70,000 euros, developed at Trigoria, sold for a maximum of 6.5 million, and now valued at up to 20 million—the arithmetic shows profit, but the pitch tells a different story.

Roma have identified Frosinone midfielder Giorgi Kvernadze as a target to strengthen Gasperini's attack, according to reports. The Georgian midfielder appeals to the Roma coach, but Frosinone—managed by Alvini—are holding firm in their valuation, demanding at least €25 million. The pursuit of other attacking options remains active: Endrick, the Brazilian currently out of favour at Real Madrid under Mourinho, continues to be monitored by Roma's sporting director D'Amico, with a potential approach planned for January. Roma's summer transfer window saw other targets slip away. Leweling, pursued by Roma until late in the window, was also on the radar of Inter under Chivu, though Stuttgart resisted both clubs' advances. The window's conclusion left gaps that Gasperini is now tasked with addressing through future recruitment cycles.

Gasperini has built Roma's attack on Paulo Dybala and Matías Soulé as a partnership, though the pair have yet to share the pitch together in six league and Champions League matches this season. Soulé, returning from a physically gruelling 2025-26 campaign in which he scored six goals but battled pubalgia throughout, has now struck twice in the opening weeks—including a crucial injury-time winner against Atalanta—and holds the starting berth over Rodrigo Mora. Before this season, his last goal had come against Sassuolo on 10 January 2026; his previous strike was at Lecce on 31 August. He managed only two assists across that entire period, against Pisa and Stuttgart. Soulé's return to fitness represents a turning point for the Argentine winger, who enters his third season at Roma free from physical setbacks. Gasperini expects him to reach double figures in goals—a threshold that only Donyell Malen has crossed for the Giallorossi so far. The coach views this as non-negotiable; operating with a single striker over 10 goals is, by his standards, an anomaly. Soulé now faces a defining moment: to remain a capable performer or to establish himself as a genuine elite operator on the continental stage. Rodrigo Mora, the young Portuguese talent, has impressed in flashes but remains largely untested. Gasperini has publicly praised him, though he and the club acknowledge his tender age and the need for him to deliver goals alongside his promising moments. Mora operates within a longer grace period, but his trajectory depends on producing the numbers his talent suggests. Both forwards' form will shape Roma's January transfer approach. The club retains interest in acquiring another attacker—a priority unfulfilled in summer 2026. Luiz Henrique, Leweling and Gittens remain active targets. Director D'Amico has resumed work on the matter with conviction, though for Gasperini, performance in the here and now takes precedence.

Roma's sporting director D'Amico continues to pursue two positions ahead of the January transfer window after failing to complete moves during the summer window. The club's primary need remains an attacking winger, preferably left-footed, to operate on the left flank and provide depth, power and speed. The secondary target is a midfielder with left-sided capability who can add running, physicality and solidity to the squad. Gasperini's requests have been clear since the summer window closed. For the defensive winger role, D'Amico has identified Oosterwolde as the primary candidate. The Dutch player was sent to Istanbul by D'Amico following medical tests and is currently recovering from femoral tendon surgery, with his return to action targeted for the end of October. D'Amico is prepared to wait for Oosterwolde's recovery and will evaluate him in Fenerbahce's matches over the final two months of the year. The Roma director is unbothered by the timeline because Oosterwolde would become both the most defensive of Roma's wingers and the most structurally robust option. A loan deal can be arranged if he returns to full fitness. Looking further ahead to next season, D'Amico is also monitoring Bakola, a French midfielder born in 2007 at Sassuolo, and Kvernadze, a Georgian attacking winger born in 2003 at Frosinone. This mirrors the approach taken with Santiago Castro, who was under observation last winter before being acquired this summer.

Lorenzo Pellegrini is using the international break to complete his recovery and return to full fitness ahead of Roma's resumption of the Serie A season. The club captain has been named in the squad for recent matches against Torino and Inter but has not yet featured, with his last appearance dating to 10 April against Pisa when he suffered a thigh injury. An attempted comeback for the derby in the closing stages of last season resulted in a setback, leading to surgical intervention in Finland in early June. Gasperini indicated before Roma–Inter that the international break presented an opportunity for Pellegrini to increase his workload further. The midfielder is targeting availability for the away fixture at Como and aims to accumulate minutes in the following sequence of fixtures. Pellegrini renewed his contract in the summer for a single season on a net wage of €2.5 million and must now compete for a place on the attacking midfield line, where Matías Soulé and Rodrigo Mora represent the principal competition. Last season he started 25 of 37 matches in which he was named in the squad, underlining his significance to the group, and Gasperini had pushed for his retention. After six months without a competitive appearance, the focus now centres on his return to the pitch.