Pruzzo Questions Greenwood Price as Roma Pursues Attacker

Roma sporting director Tony D'Amico has reopened contact with the representatives of Endrick, Real Madrid's Brazilian forward, during the international break to explore the 18-year-old's availability. Endrick has indicated openness to joining Roma, though AC Milan remain active competitors for his signature. Both clubs had conducted extensive checks on the player during the summer transfer window, but then-Real Madrid manager José Mourinho blocked any departure. Endrick's opening weeks at Madrid have been hampered by a muscle injury that disrupted his pre-season. The left-footed Brazilian has accumulated only four minutes of competitive football in the white shirt, a shortage of playing time that has prompted him to consider alternative options. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has identified the player as his preferred solution to a long-standing search for an attacking midfielder to operate on the centre-left, behind the main striker. Gasperini envisions using Endrick in that hybrid role to support play and create chances for Donyell Malen, a pairing the coach believes would deliver unpredictability, acceleration and lethal finishing. Roma are studying a deal structure centred on a loan with a purchase option, a formula consistent with the club's commitment to financial balance. The opportunities to accelerate negotiations will come soon: Roma and Real Madrid meet at the Stadio Olimpico on 14 October for a Champions League match. The arrival of Real Madrid's leadership in the capital will allow D'Amico to enter substantive talks and attempt to move the transfer forward.

Roma are competing with AC Milan to sign Real Madrid forward Endrick, who has expressed interest in both clubs. During the current international break, Roma's sporting director D'Amico reopened contact with the player's representatives, according to La Repubblica. Endrick has played just four minutes for Real Madrid this season owing to a muscular injury and is currently with Brazil's national team. The left-footed 2006-born forward has earned the full approval of Gasperini, who has spent over a year seeking an attacking midfielder to deploy on the left behind the main striker. Roma's preferred route is a loan with a right of purchase. The Champions League fixture scheduled for 14 October could provide an opportunity to accelerate the transfer chase.

Endrick has emerged as one of Roma's primary targets for January, with Real Madrid now willing to let the Brazilian depart on loan after months of resistance. Sporting director Tony D'Amico has reactivated contact with the player's representatives during the international break, and the forward has indicated interest in joining Roma. Real Madrid's change of stance represents a significant shift from the summer, when José Mourinho blocked the move; the club's reluctance then contrasts sharply with their current openness, driven partly by Endrick's minimal playing time—he has managed only four minutes across La Liga and the Champions League this season, hampered by a muscular injury. Roma's preferred structure would be a loan with a right of purchase, a formula that aligns with the club's current financial parameters. However, the specific terms of any redemption clause remain to be negotiated. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has given Endrick his full approval. The player, a left-footed attacker capable of operating behind the striker or as an outright forward, can provide the depth at attacking positions that Gasperini has consistently sought. He could complement Donyell Malen and add a different profile to Roma's forward line. Milan also retains interest in signing Endrick, though Roma hold the advantage after the player signalled his preference for a move to the capital. The timeline could accelerate on 14 October, when Real Madrid visit the Olimpico for a Champions League fixture—a visit that could allow the Spanish club's hierarchy to discuss the matter directly with Roma's leadership. D'Amico is keeping multiple options alive. Giorgi Kvernadze remains under observation, while Jamie Gittens and Jamie Leweling, both long tracked by Roma, are reportedly available from their current clubs. Endrick has become the warmest lead, with several factors now aligning that prevented a deal in the summer: the player's desire for regular football, his limited opportunities at Madrid, and Real Madrid's newfound willingness to negotiate his departure.

Matías Soulé has turned a turbulent summer into one of the brightest periods of his Roma career. Within days, the forward celebrated the birth of his first child and earned his maiden cap for Argentina, coming on at half-time in a friendly against Burkina Faso alongside Roma teammate Leonardo Balerdi. The moment, witnessed by his family in the stands, marked the culmination of a dramatic reversal in his fortunes at the club. From the end of last season through the recent transfer window, Soulé had been repeatedly linked with a departure. Roma considered him both a potential source of revenue ahead of the 30 June deadline and a possible sacrificial chip to fund moves for different attacking profiles. Despite multiple approaches from other clubs, neither Roma nor Soulé's representatives received offers they deemed adequate, and he remained at Trigoria under Gian Piero Gasperini's management. A complete recovery from the pubic pain that had hampered his performances in the second half of the 2025-26 season has accelerated his turnaround. In this opening stretch of the 2026-27 campaign, Soulé has claimed a prominent role in Gasperini's tactical setup. Across six matches in Serie A and the Champions League, he has started in four of them, rotating with Rodrigo Mora as support for Paulo Dybala and striker Donyell Malen. His impact has been immediate: he has scored against Atalanta and Lecce. Since joining Roma from Juventus for an investment of nearly €30 million, he has made 87 appearances, recording 14 goals and 14 assists. After his appearance in the celebratory match marking Lionel Messi's international retirement, Soulé will return to Rome to prepare for the upcoming away fixture at Como.

Roma return to Serie A action on Sunday at Como with Gasperini facing a decision over his attacking midfield line, according to Simone Valdarchi in Corriere della Sera. The club sits top of the table after the first international break and will resume training tomorrow afternoon with focus entirely on the match against Fabregas's side. The contest for the playmaking role alongside Dybala and Malen remains open, with Soulé having featured regularly in the season's opening weeks. Soulé's Argentina commitments may work against him for the Como fixture. The midfielder will remain with the Argentina squad for one more day to face Benin—a match marking Messi's farewell to the national team—before returning to Roma, potentially limiting his readiness for immediate action on Sunday. This could give Pellegrini and Mora the chance to contest the trequarti role. Pellegrini begins his third week of training tomorrow, while Mora is away with Portugal U21, who face the Czech Republic tomorrow. Both players will find regular opportunities in the matches ahead as Roma's fixture list accelerates to a game every three days.

Gian Piero Gasperini will deploy Nahuel Molina and Wesley as twin wingers in Roma's visit to Como, harnessing simultaneous attacking thrust down both flanks to counter Cesc Fabregas's side. With Molina fully recovered and Wesley in continued form, Roma will field two genuine wide operators capable of delivering width, high pressing and chances for the attacking midfielders. The tactical choice targets Como's possession-based play built around Baturina and Diao's unpredictability; Molina and Wesley are instructed to close down Como's wide references and attacking midfielders immediately, forcing them away from build-up play into long balls. In possession, the overlapping runs of Molina and Wesley will create lateral chains with Paulo Dybala and Matías Soulé, opening space for crosses and inside passes. Last season Roma's right wing relied solely on Wesley alongside the converted Zeki Çelik, but the club now possesses one of Serie A's strongest selections of wide midfielders. Gasperini's side has already created thirteen goalscoring actions from wide midfielders this season—second in the league behind Inter's fourteen. Wesley leads with seven goal contributions, followed by Molina on four and eighteen-year-old Emanuele Lulli, an academy product promoted to the first team, who has added two decisive contributions and demonstrates the depth of alternatives available on the flanks. A key feature of Gasperini's system is the tactical flexibility of both players. Wesley and Molina can interchange wings during matches without loss of effectiveness, alternating deep play and crosses with cuts inside on their stronger foot to link with the attacking midfielders. This constant switching prevents opposing defences from finding fixed reference points and allows Roma to vary attacking approaches throughout the game.