Pellegrini Chooses Roma Over Juventus and Besiktas, Signs One-Year Deal

Sending young players out on loan is often meant to build experience, but the tactic frequently backfires. Three recent cases illustrate the gamble: Bologna's Antonio Raimondo, Roma's Alessandro Romano, and Atalanta's Dominic Vavassori have all thrived in loan moves, raising questions about whether their parent clubs made the right call letting them go. Raimondo has scored two double goals in Bologna's opening four matches this season after manager Tedesco chose to start the season with Artem Dovbyk, fresh from a difficult spell at Roma, and Roberto Piccoli. Roma took a bolder step by loaning Alessandro Romano to Cagliari with an obligation to buy during the summer transfer window. Romano scored on his debut, has been among Cagliari's best performers consistently, and earned a senior international cap—a remarkable return for a prospect Roma developed in their youth academy. Roma's midfield includes Cristante, Koné, Pisilli and De Roon, all established operators with strong pedigree. Their presence justified sending Romano out, yet one observer, Pisacane, remarked that Romano was "very similar to Strootman," suggesting his value may have been underestimated. Vavassori, with Atalanta, has an equally striking early record. Though Sarri declined to change his forward pairing of Scamacca and Krstovic—the combination that earned Atalanta European qualification last year—Vavassori has netted twice in the opening stretch of this season with Palermo, a club positioned to mount a promotion bid. Baldini recognised Vavassori's potential after calling him to a national team stage following the World Cup campaign, and Atalanta acknowledged his promise by granting him significant minutes in their U23 side. Not every loan fails: Milan showed sound judgment loaning Cissè and Liberali to Catanzaro last season under Aquilani, and both have since been integrated into the first team. The article concludes that success depends on the squad, the player, and the context—there is no universal formula, though evaluation errors remain common.

Alessandro Romano, a Roma academy product sold to Cagliari this summer, is attracting significant attention after an impressive start to the season. Cagliari manager Fabio Pisacane has drawn a striking parallel with Kevin Strootman following the club's victory over Udinese, saying of the 20-year-old midfielder: "I think he doesn't even know how strong he is. He's a complete player — if I'm to make a comparison, he's a player like Strootman, with even greater physical impact." Pisacane added: "Perhaps Strootman had a more educated left foot, but Romano has game understanding, sacrifice, dedication, knows how to play football. He's a complete player. He needs to play a lot, even if he makes mistakes." The comparison resonates sharply in Rome because Strootman, before a serious knee injury derailed his trajectory, was one of the most accomplished and well-rounded midfielders to play for Roma in recent years. Romano has found at Cagliari what he would have struggled to obtain immediately at Roma under Gasperini: regular playing time, confidence, and the freedom to learn through mistakes. The academy prospect has progressed rapidly enough to earn his first senior national team call-up. The tension is that Romano did not leave on a simple loan: Cagliari acquired him with an obligation to buy for approximately €6 million upon the completion of unspecified sporting conditions. If those conditions are met, he will be contracted to Cagliari until 2032. Roma's problem is both tactical and structural. Romano was regarded as one of the most promising prospects from the Giallorossi youth academy and had already sampled Serie A football under Gasperini. At only twenty, he is now demonstrating the ability to handle a significant role in the top flight, combining technical quality with a tactical maturity that impressed Pisacane: "He seems like a player much older than his age." The club does need revenue from its academy, and not every young player can find immediate space in a side chasing Champions League qualification and the Serie A summit. Yet when a Trigoria-developed player begins to establish himself elsewhere within months of departure, questions become unavoidable — especially when his daily coach invokes the name of Strootman.

Alessandro Romano, a Roma academy graduate who departed for Cagliari a few weeks ago, has impressed his new club sufficiently to earn a call-up to the Italy national team at the behest of coach Mancini. Cagliari manager Pisacane highlighted Romano's development after his side's victory over Udinese, drawing a comparison to a former Roma midfielder. Pisacane told Sky: "Romano? I don't think he even knows how strong he is himself. He's a complete player—if I have to give an example, he's a player like Strootman but with more physical impact. Perhaps Strootman had a more educated left foot, but he's a player who understands the game, has sacrifice, has dedication, knows how to play football. He's a complete player. He needs to play a lot, even if he makes mistakes: he surprised me—compared to Palestra, who made two or three mistakes at Udinese, he seems a player much more mature than his age would suggest."

Nahuel Molina has emerged as a key figure in Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma side, playing on the left flank—a position he had rarely occupied in his career. After an initial trial at Torino, Gasperini deployed the Argentine right-back on the opposite flank against Inter, a role Molina has played only nine times overall. The experiment paid off: Molina delivered the assist for Manu Koné's opening goal and impressed enough to convince his manager that the system works. The fullback has since regained ground on his positional rivals, closing a physical gap that had left him sidelined at the start of the season. Gasperini's tactical flexibility is his trademark—the previous season he had shifted Wesley to the left with similar success. Molina possesses greater attacking instinct than Zeki Çelik, and his contributions came through continuous overlaps, off-the-ball movement and crosses from the byline. According to reporting by Niccolò Maurelli in La Repubblica, the Argentine has found the right notes to satisfy Gasperini's demands. Training resumed today with the full squad and continues through Friday, followed by two rest days over the weekend. In the three weeks before Roma face Como, Gasperini plans to arrange friendly matches, possibly against the club's Primavera side, to restore match fitness for those still awaiting playing time. Lorenzo Pellegrini is among those available again after returning from an injury sustained in the final league matches of last season.

Nahuel Molina has emerged as one of Gian Piero Gasperini's shrewdest tactical decisions in the opening weeks of the season, deployed on the left side of Roma's defence—a position unfamiliar to the Argentine defender throughout his career. Molina has responded with a commanding display, contributing an assist for Manu Koné's opening goal in the match against Inter. The positional experiment is yielding the intended results, with Molina declaring his comfort in the new role: "I feel very good on the left." The former Atlético Madrid player, who arrived at the end of August without participating in the summer's pre-season training alongside his teammates, has earned public praise from Gasperini, who said: "Molina is a solid and mature world champion; the coach saw it right." His versatility will allow Gasperini to rotate him and Wesley across both flanks. While Roma prepare for their next Serie A fixture on 11 October against Como, the squad will train at Trigoria with a reduced group. Beyond the international players scattered worldwide, injured players Wesley (muscular strain) and Bryan Cristante (lower back pain) will remain in Rome. The staff has received positive news regarding Lorenzo Pellegrini's full recovery. The Roma captain, returning to availability after a physical problem, will use the two-week break to regain match fitness and arrive at full capacity for the resumption of official matches.

Roma held Inter to a 2-2 draw to consolidate their position at the top of Serie A, with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini's squad demonstrating they can compete with any opponent in the title race. The result leaves Roma with a sense of momentum despite Inter remaining favourites for the title. The club's leadership — squad, management and coaching staff — have built the league lead on concrete foundations: Roma have the second-best defence in the championship behind Cagliari and the second-best attack, with a goal difference of +11. Roma's statistical dominance extends across multiple metrics. The club has recorded 2359 successful passes, 31 crosses, 103 shots on target and created 23 major chances — a continuous statistical duel with Inter. The upcoming international break will allow Gasperini's staff to plan for the resumption and give Lorenzo Pellegrini time to recover fully. November looms as historically the month when Gasperini's teams reach peak physical and tactical performance, once they have absorbed summer's training loads and integrated new signings. Brazilian winger Wesley will miss his national team's call due to a muscular problem and will remain in Rome to recover from injury. The squad's determination to fight until the end for a place in the title race is clear, with the manager confident his team can compete over the full season.

Roma's 1–1 draw with Inter on Saturday evening has left Gian Piero Gasperini's side top of Serie A after twenty further days in first place, and with a clear sense that they can compete with any opponent in the league. Despite conceding a second-half comeback following Manu Koné's double, the performance represents another examination passed. Gasperini has transformed what could have been fear into ambition. The word scudetto need not intimidate: Inter remain favourites, but as Gasperini and later Matías Soulé both said after the match, "We will fight until the end to push our way in." Roma's position at the summit is no accident but the product of serious work conducted over recent months by Gasperini, the management and the squad. The unity of the entire environment, including the supporters, represents an additional factor in Roma's title bid. The team plays from memory, with a rhythm distinctly Gasperiniani, and with Paulo Dybala restored to his Juventus-era Joya form. The international break offers Roma a chance to plot an escape plan against Inter and to bring Lorenzo Pellegrini back to full fitness. November traditionally favours Gasperini's teams, once summer pre-season fatigue has lifted, tactical mechanisms run fluidly and new signings are fully integrated into the system of play. The statistics already crown Roma's credentials. Gasperini's side has the second-best defence in the championship (behind Cagliari) and the second-best attack, with a goal difference of plus eleven. Roma rank second for defensive interceptions (behind Cagliari), second for completed passes (2,359, behind Inter), second for successful crosses (31, behind Inter), second for shots on target (103, compared to Inter's 115) and second for big chances created (23, compared to Inter's 26). A direct duel with the Nerazzurri across all departments appears destined to last much longer. Among the many national team players currently away, Wesley withdrew from Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil squad owing to a muscular problem.

Manu Koné delivered a commanding display in Roma's 2–2 draw with Inter on 19 September, scoring twice in the opening 75 minutes and controlling the midfield with such authority that European observers took notice. Despite Roma's disappointment at failing to hold a two-goal lead—conceded after a first-half performance Matías Soulé admitted was flawed—Gian Piero Gasperini lifted the mood in the dressing room. Koné was withdrawn before the final whistle because he is still building his match fitness to the 90-minute mark. The 24-year-old midfielder, whom Inter had pursued for months without success, demonstrated a marked improvement in his range of play this season. He registered 61.37% pressure resistance—a metric measuring how often he was closed down by opponents—ranking as the third-most pressured Roma player after Donyell Malen and roughly level with Paulo Dybala. What impressed observers was not just his goal tally but the speed, composure and precision with which he moved the ball, qualities he has visibly sharpened since the start of the year. His performance allowed Bryan Cristante greater space to operate and lifted Roma's overall efficiency. Commentators across Europe reacted with superlatives: 'Surreal', 'He's massacring Inter', and 'He moves like Camavinga but more composed and calm with and without the ball'. Inter's own supporters were candid, with one assessment stating: 'He humiliated Barella and every single Nerazzurri player on the pitch—he looks like a father playing with his children in the park.' Milan, too, expressed regret: the club had tracked Koné closely during his time at Toulouse and Borussia Mönchengladbach but failed to move decisively, eventually signing Fofana two weeks before Koné arrived. Roma secured him for 18 million euros on the final day of the transfer window under Daniele De Rossi's management. His market value now sits above 70 million euros.

Roma have earned 7.5 points in their opening five matches of the 2026-27 season, establishing themselves as serious contenders. Victories over Fiorentina and Atalanta—sides representing the upper-middle tier of Serie A—plus wins against Lecce and Torino, combined with a competitive draw against Inter, paint an encouraging picture despite some regrets about how the Inter result unfolded. Mile Svilar continues as Serie A's strongest goalkeeper, providing constant assurance without being called upon for spectacular saves. Gianluca Mancini has suffered minor technical injuries against Atalanta and Inter but remains too valuable for his leadership and interpretation of the coach's attacking defensive phase, particularly evident in his display during the Torino victory. Evan N'Dicka maintains a regular standard, though he now faces genuine competition for his place. Mario Hermoso has emerged as perhaps Gasperini's most indispensable centre-back, despite occasional lapses; defenders in this system are calculated risk-takers. Leonardo Balerdi has made an instant impression with a handful of interventions, earning fans' affection with his spirit of a great South American defender and securing his status as a regular starter. Konstantinos Koulierakis is gradually introducing himself to the pitch, while Daniele Ghilardi continues his development curve. Emanuele Lulli offers freshness on the flanks, a year after failing to be a regular starter in the Primavera. Wesley, returning from injury and a difficult pre-season, has struggled to regain match sharpness after missing nearly a year; he will return to his previous standards. Bryan Cristante stands as a monument to consistency, never missing a match despite the rotation around him. Manu Koné produced a display in the first half against Inter worthy of his quality, reaching peaks never achieved before, though he lacks Cristante's reliability. Niccolò Pisilli missed much of pre-season and it shows, yet his timing in transitions remains sharp, with two goals from part-time playing. Marten de Roon has seen limited action—unsurprising given Gasperini's habit of recalling him at the last moment when tactical changes demand it. Paulo Dybala lacks goals and the signature shots that made him special, though his assists and unrecognizable fitness levels mean Gasperini receives no questions about his rest requirements. Matías Soulé, who appeared destined for departure and began on the bench, decided the clash with Atalanta and now competes as a more regular starter. Rodrigo Mora started explosively with quality, as the coach highlighted, and will reward patience. Donyell Malen has scored six goals in six matches, giving Roma a one-goal advantage on average; alongside Lautaro, he represents the tournament's finest striker. Santiago Castro, small like Malen, brings unrelenting intensity when introduced and lives for goals—once he finds that breakthrough, added serenity will carry him far.