Pagano set for permanent exit as Empoli pursue Roma midfielder

Roma are making a new push to sign Jamie Gittens from Chelsea as sporting director D'Amico works to complete Gasperini's attacking options following the collapse of the Leweling deal. The Leweling move fell through after the player rejected Roma following an agreement with Stuttgart. Roma are structuring a proposal around a loan deal worth €5 million with a right of purchase set at approximately €55 million, bringing the overall package to €60 million. Chelsea have consistently demanded an outright transfer, but the comprehensive package being tabled could shift the dynamic in these final hours of the transfer window. Roma are still seeking the green light from the English club.

Roma are making a fresh attempt to sign Chelsea winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens on the final night of the transfer window. The key development is Chelsea's reported willingness to consider a loan formula that Roma has been pursuing throughout the summer. The deal would see Bynoe-Gittens arrive on a paid loan worth approximately €5 million, with a right of purchase set at around €55 million. This structure would allow Roma to bring in the player immediately without bearing the full upfront cost of the transfer fee. Bynoe-Gittens, born in 2004, has been one of Roma's priority targets in the latter stages of the window as they continue hunting for an attacking winger. The Gittens track remains very much alive heading into the final hours of the market, with Roma keeping several options open. The club had previously worked on bringing him in but had not secured Chelsea's backing for the loan-with-purchase-option structure until now. With the window entering its closing stages and the Leweling prospect reportedly fading, Roma are waiting to see whether Chelsea will finally grant the approval necessary to complete one of the summer's major objectives. The €5 million loan fee and €55 million purchase option represent a compromise that could unlock the deal in the dying moments of the transfer period.

Jamie Leweling has declined to open the door to a Roma move despite intensive negotiations on 31 August, leaving the giallorossi's hopes of completing a deal in tatters. Roma and Stuttgart had reportedly reached an agreement, but the German winger refused to give the club the go-ahead, catching general manager D'Amico off-guard at a moment when Roma believed the operation was on the brink of completion. The collapse of the Leweling pursuit also freezes the parallel track: Luiz Henrique, the Brazilian forward for whom Roma already held agreements with both Zenit and the player himself, remains in limbo while the club pivoted to prioritise the Stuttgart negotiations. Roma had restructured their approach after an initial loan-with-obligation-to-buy proposal was rejected. The club tabled a fresh offer worth €30 million plus €5 million in bonuses, coupled with a contract through to 2031, but Leweling has resisted commitment to his future. The 22-year-old is weighing competing interest from Premier League clubs—Everton and Liverpool among them—while a stay at Stuttgart remains an option he has not ruled out. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini was waiting for Roma to deliver an attacking winger, and Leweling had climbed the priority list over Henrique in what was shaping as a crucial final push of the window. Sources Gianluca Di Marzio and Fabrizio Romano reported that Roma held fresh discussions with Stuttgart throughout 31 August in an attempt to bridge the gap on structure and financial terms, following the rejection of an earlier giallorossi proposal in preceding days. The two clubs had moved into what was described as a very hot phase of negotiation. Roma's sporting director D'Amico had been convinced the Leweling deal could be closed, with a response expected either by evening on 31 August or by the morning of 1 September at the latest. Sky Sport Germany's Dennis Bayer confirmed Leweling had asked for time to reflect on his future and had not yet communicated his decision. With Leweling's rejection, the Henrique option—which offers Roma a ready-made agreement with both club and player—returns to the table as a fallback. The article makes clear the Leweling operation is now destined to collapse entirely.

Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has identified a striker and a left-back as the remaining pieces needed to complete the squad ahead of tomorrow's away fixture at Lecce. Gasperini said: "To complete the team we need a piece that closes that section. A left-back and a forward have remained. Lulli has filled in somewhat, I have always believed in him, he is giving important responses but we cannot load such large responsibilities on him. Last season we had Angeliño, Tsimikas, Çelik, Wesley and also Rensch." Gasperini has most of his squad available for the trip to Via del Mare, with Lorenzo Pellegrini and Devyne Rensch expected to return to group training next week. Leonardo Balerdi was officially confirmed as a new arrival this morning, joining fellow recent additions Konstantinos Koulierakis, Rodrigo Mora, Santiago Castro and Nahuel Molina among the squad.

Former Roma and Lecce player Gigi Garzya has warned that Roma must be ready for an opponent who gives nothing away when the sides meet on Monday. Speaking ahead of the match, Garzya praised Lecce's performance in their opening away win at Venezia, saying the team of Di Francesco "remained in the game with the right mentality and lucidity that weighed heavily in the final half-hour". He highlighted Olaf Gorter as a player who impressed with both quality and personality, and noted the arrival of Ilić as evidence of Lecce's focus on adding strength in the transfer market. On Roma's prospects under Gian Piero Gasperini in his second season, Garzya acknowledged the squad has been reinforced, though he described Zeki Çelik's departure as a "heavy" loss—while backing Nahuel Molina to compensate with his quality and competitive drive. He was effusive about midfielder Rodrigo Mora, saying: "Technically he has numbers that make him an important prospect; one characteristic struck me more than others: he is the type of player you do not see frequently in the various leagues, because his thinking arrives first, and consequently he then makes the ball travel in an unpredictable way for opponents. When people say he is a bit light physically, they forget that the most important characteristic is playing the ball always with some instant of anticipation for whoever controls it." On the defence, Garzya explained that Konstantinos Koulierakis represents a deliberate and necessary choice rather than mere cover: "This year, with the Champions League, you need at least six established defenders in the department, calculating also that the game starts from the back, there are so many matches and Gasperini's football is very demanding in every role. The choice was targeted; the Roma coach never approves a signing just to make up numbers." Regarding Roma's ambitions, Garzya urged caution: "It is too early to say and ultimately the transfer market may not be finished yet; let's also see what the others do by the close; certainly you must do everything to maintain Champions League qualification, because Roma must play this competition regularly. Then we'll see if appetite comes with eating."

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.