Pellegrini set for extra firepower as Gasperini follows Dybala blueprint

Matías Soulé and Santiago Castro left Rome this evening bound for Argentina's national team camp, departing Fiumicino airport and arriving in Buenos Aires the following morning. They were joined by Leonardo Balerdi. The trio were seen off by their personal trainer Guido Viggiano, who posted a photograph of the pair on social media with the message: "Have a good trip, you deserve it". Roma's contingent heads to Argentina for three international fixtures: friendlies against Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Benin. The final match will provide an occasion to pay tribute to Lionel Messi, who is preparing to retire from the Argentina national team after an extraordinary career with the squad.

Donyell Malen, Wesley and Bryan Cristante will remain at Trigoria during the international break after withdrawing from their national team commitments due to minor injuries, with no serious alarm felt over their condition. Malen has been ruled out of the Netherlands squad with a physical problem that emerged in recent days, Wesley has suffered a right thigh muscle strain that forced him to withdraw from Brazil's call-up, and Cristante is unavailable for Italy's fixtures. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini aims to have all three available again when the league resumes. Roma have released twelve players to their respective national teams following the 2–2 draw against Inter. The departing squad members, including youth representatives, are Gianluca Mancini, Daniele Ghilardi, Evan N'Dicka, Emanuele Lulli, Niccolò Pisilli, Manu Koné, Leonardo Balerdi, Santiago Castro, Matías Soulé, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Rodrigo Mora and Giorgio De Marzi. A fixture to watch closely is France versus Italy in the Nations League on 2 October, which will pit Koné against squad-mates Mancini and Ghilardi. Off the pitch, Jason Morrow has departed his position as Chief Financial Officer of AS Roma to return to the United States within the Friedkin Group, as previously agreed with the ownership. The club has decided not to appoint an immediate replacement, with a successor arriving later. John Galantic will consolidate his role as a point of reference for both the administrative and technical spheres, maintaining the strong working relationship he has built with Gasperini and D'Amico.

Donyell Malen has withdrawn from the Netherlands squad during the international break due to a minor left knee issue sustained in Roma's match against Inter, though head coach Gasperini will retain him, Paulo Dybala, Bryan Cristante and Wesley at Trigoria. Over 20 days, 12 Roma players will scatter across the globe for international duty. Malen's injury is not considered serious. Netherlands coach Xavi commented: "It's a shame because Donyell is in excellent form. I think he's fine, I don't know how long it will take him to recover, but the injury is not serious." The decision to rest him was precautionary. Argentine players Santiago Castro, Matías Soulé and Leonardo Balerdi will feature in friendlies against Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Benin respectively. The Benin match doubles as a farewell appearance for Lionel Messi, to which Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina have also been invited.

Roma have earned promotion to the tier of big clubs following their performance against Inter, demonstrating that the gap between the two squads is far from insurmountable. Gian Piero Gasperini's side showed ferocity and clear identity in their approach, with the Inter fixture serving as proof that the tactical framework is working. The crucial shift the Piedmont coach has instilled concerns mentality in direct matches against top Serie A sides—a historical limitation that has undermined Roma's recent past. Roma take the field without deference, fielding three attacking players and maintaining constant control of play. The numbers validate Gasperini's work: four consecutive victories and a spectacular draw with Inter have delivered 13 points from 15 available. This run begins Roma's autumn schedule in earnest, with the fixture list intensifying rapidly. Rotation will become essential for the technical staff in the weeks ahead, bringing second-string players into the action more frequently. The international break will be valuable for Lorenzo Pellegrini's full recovery. Gasperini will continue developing young talent Rodrigo Mora, who arrived in the summer and is ready to claim greater playing time. Roma travel to Como on Sunday, 11 October for a 12:30 kickoff.

Roma have begun the 2026-27 season strongly, scoring freely and proving they can match Serie A's leading sides—but head coach Gian Piero Gasperini sees room to unlock quality in a specific area without returning to the transfer market. The key zone is the left-sided attacking midfield, where two very different players can become important: Rodrigo Mora and Lorenzo Pellegrini. Mora arrived in summer carrying the label of an elite young talent and made an immediate impression at Roma, including scoring against Lecce. The 19-year-old, born in 2007, started brightly but recent weeks have revealed the uneven path young prospects travel. His recent appearances have been less incisive; at Turin he came on in the second half without making a particular mark, and against Inter he remained on the bench for the entire match despite Roma's need for fresh attacking quality, especially in the second half. Gasperini has continued to speak of Mora as a player with great talent but has been clear about the work still required. "He needs to complete himself physically above all, and also tactically," Gasperini said. The club invested heavily in the Portuguese midfielder and nobody at Trigoria sees the present moment as an endpoint. Mora must learn to be decisive when space narrows, tempo increases and time to think diminishes. Pellegrini's summer has been almost the opposite. Rather than fighting immediately for a starting place, he underwent lengthy work to rebuild his body and sort his contract future. After an injury that kept him sidelined in the final stages of last season, Pellegrini renewed his Roma deal through 2027 and has only recently returned to regular availability. Gasperini is not rushing his reintegration: the midfielder has not played an official match in months. The international break presents an opportunity Gasperini is considering carefully—he is evaluating the organisation of friendly matches to allow players remaining at Trigoria to accumulate minutes and match rhythm. For Pellegrini this pause can become a platform for restart. After weeks split between recovery and contract renewal, the goal is to become a genuine solution rather than merely a name on the team sheet. While not the pure attacking winger Gasperini sought in summer, he can offer a different answer to that same need, particularly in matches where Roma require additional passing quality and creativity near Dybala and Malen. Pellegrini, who hoped for a longer contract extension, has only a few months to prove himself worthy of both the manager's and the club's faith. After the break, nine matches arrive in twenty-eight days, and Roma cannot always depend on Dybala, Malen or Soulé to produce the decisive moment.

Roma earned their credentials as genuine contenders with a spirited performance against Inter at the Stadio Olimpico, drawing with the defending Serie A champions and demonstrating that the gap between the two sides is far smaller than Inter's status as favourites to repeat their title might suggest. Under Gasperini's command, Roma have shed the inferiority complex that plagued big matches in previous years, now playing against any opponent with the same approach—three attackers and a relentless will to dominate. The coach has reshaped the squad entirely in little over a year, instilling his ideas into every corner of the team. Roma's opening to the season has been emphatic: four straight league wins before the draw with Inter has yielded 13 points from a possible 15. The foundation Gasperini has built addresses Roma's historic weakness in high-stakes fixtures, where they previously lacked the self-belief to compete. That mentality shift is now visible on the pitch, with the team playing with constant aggression and the backing of their home crowd. The next assignment comes at Como on Sunday 11 October at noon, with the league campaign resuming there. As Roma push forward, Gasperini will need to develop a broader pool of starting-calibre players to manage inevitable squad rotation. The club will also be hoping to recover players including Lorenzo Pellegrini and Rodrigo Mora, described as the jewel arrived in the summer but still to be fully refined. According to Simone Valdarchi in Corriere della Sera, the transformation under the coach has been the defining factor in Roma's early success.

Donyell Malen has withdrawn from the Netherlands squad during the international break due to a minor left knee issue sustained in Roma's match against Inter, though head coach Gasperini will retain him, Paulo Dybala, Bryan Cristante and Wesley at Trigoria. Over 20 days, 12 Roma players will scatter across the globe for international duty. Malen's injury is not considered serious. Netherlands coach Xavi commented: "It's a shame because Donyell is in excellent form. I think he's fine, I don't know how long it will take him to recover, but the injury is not serious." The decision to rest him was precautionary. Argentine players Santiago Castro, Matías Soulé and Leonardo Balerdi will feature in friendlies against Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Benin respectively. The Benin match doubles as a farewell appearance for Lionel Messi, to which Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina have also been invited.

Paulo Dybala has opened up about his role within Roma's squad during an interview for the video game FC27's 'The Grounds' mode. When asked whether he feels he is now a mentor to his teammates, Dybala deflected personal credit. "I think that's something the lads should say," he replied. "I simply try to help everyone and I hope my teammates are proud of me." Dybala discussed his earliest influences in football, crediting his father as his first mentor. "It was him who got me playing football for the first time, together with my brothers. I believe therefore that, on a human level, they are my source of inspiration," he said. As a child, Dybala played in his home country with friends in informal settings. "I started in my country. With my friends we played anywhere," he explained. "The goals were backpacks or trees." When asked about his footballing idol, Dybala named Ronaldinho, and also highlighted Juan Román Riquelme. "I liked Riquelme very much, especially his celebrations," he noted. For a hypothetical two-on-two game, Dybala chose his Roma teammate Matías Soulé as his partner. On the subject of who controls the music in Roma's dressing room, Dybala credited Soulé again: "Soulé. Every now and then he plays strange music, but mostly reggaeton."

Paulo Dybala has featured in an interview for FC27's new video game mode, 'The Grounds', discussing his upbringing, football influences and life at Roma. When asked whether he now serves as a mentor to the squad, Dybala said: 'I think the lads should say that. I simply try to help everyone and hope my teammates are proud of me.' Dybala traced his football journey to his childhood. His father introduced him and his brothers to the game, and he credits his family as his main source of human inspiration rather than a formal mentor. He began playing in his home country with friends, using makeshift pitches where goals were marked by backpacks or trees. Among his early role models were Ronaldinho and Juan Román Riquelme, whose celebrations particularly impressed him. In lighter squad dynamics, Dybala named Matías Soulé as his choice for a two-on-two partner. He also revealed that Soulé controls the dressing room music: 'Every now and then he plays strange music, but mainly reggaeton.' The interview covered nostalgic memories of casual football and his relationship with his Roma teammates.