Radio pundits debate Endrick's role under Gasperini and Dybala's usage

Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini wants to bring in two attacking players, with a striker of pace and thrust the clear priority. Tony D'Amico publicly acknowledged last Saturday that finding such a forward is the aim, a quality the current squad palpably lacks and which was exposed in high-level matches against Manchester, Real and Inter. Endrick is seen as the ideal profile for his technical and athletic qualities. He was deployed in support of the main striker at Lyon a year ago, when Fonseca, who now wants him at Sporting, used him in that role. He has scored 8 goals and provided 8 assists in a few months, a sign of enormous potential that is still largely unexplored. Gasperini would pair him with Malen, with a playmaker behind the front line such as Mora, in a 1-2 attack, and would add a second attacking player alongside him. That second player would be a left-footed winger who can operate as a wide midfielder or a winger, with a profile similar to Moreira: versatile and able to be used in several roles or positions during a match. The alternative would be an attacking midfielder in the mould of Pasalic or Pellegrini, who could come in as part of the rotations. The target is not a deep-lying or central midfielder.

Ryan Friedkin may travel to Rome in the coming days for a transfer summit with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, but his arrival is still uncertain, according to Il Corriere dello Sport. His brother Corbin could instead be the one to arrive at Trigoria. The last time Ryan Friedkin and Gasperini met was at Hensol, in Wales, during the club's training camp, where the pair spent a few days together before going their separate ways. The January transfer window is approaching, and Gasperini continues to ask for a constant presence from the club's ownership, with Galantic alone not being enough. Gasperini expects two signings in attack. Endrick, Gittens and Leweling are on the list, and Betis forward Rodrigo Riquelme has also resurfaced as an option to strengthen the attacking unit. The Spaniard was previously sought by Ghisolfi in 2024, and he could now come back into consideration to bolster the forward line.

Roma are pursuing Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Endrick as a January transfer target, and his personal faith could play a part in his choice of next club, according to Corriere dello Sport. The 20-year-old reportedly considers himself a follower of Christ, and the report suggests this could make Rome particularly appealing, given the presence of numerous evangelical communities and places of worship in the capital. Roma continue to work on convincing Real Madrid to let the Brazilian leave. Endrick is keen to find more regular football after accumulating little playing time this season. The Giallorossi reportedly have further advantages: his friendship with Wesley and his appreciation for the attacking football of Gian Piero Gasperini. Sporting director Tony D'Amico remains in contact with the player's entourage and is considering a loan move. Competition for the player is not lacking, but the report suggests that, between technical motivations, personal ambitions and religious convictions, Roma could have an edge in persuading Endrick to choose Trigoria.

Former Roma defender Vincent Candela believes Gian Piero Gasperini can lead the club to the Scudetto, saying the coach is "special" and that the side can go all the way in the title race against Inter. Speaking to La Repubblica, Candela backed Roma's ambitions at a time when Gasperini has made clear the club is not content with second place, stating: "La Roma non firma per il secondo posto in campionato" ("Roma do not settle for second place in the league"). Candela said Gasperini "is a special coach" and that he is convinced the Giallorossi can bring the Scudetto back to Trigoria, adding that the title race with Inter will be fought out until the end. He acknowledged that Inter remain a stronger and better-balanced side than Roma. On Roma's struggles in Europe, and their recurring problems with late collapses, Candela pointed to the need to widen the squad, in line with what the coach himself has said. He considers it natural that Roma lost to Real Madrid and Manchester United, and believes the club is not yet ready to face Europe's elite on equal terms. Asked which current player stirs memories of his own playing days, Candela named Paulo Dybala without hesitation: "Ogni volta che Dybala tocca il pallone mi batte il cuore e ringiovanisco. Paulo andrebbe proclamato patrimonio mondiale del calcio" ("Every time Dybala touches the ball my heart beats faster and I feel younger. Paulo should be proclaimed a world football treasure"). Candela's comments capture Roma's dual position: competitive enough to chase the Scudetto, yet still needing greater depth to match Europe's major powers.

Paulo Dybala remains Gasperini's strongest player at Roma, but the numbers show a side that is becoming less dependent on the Argentine. Without Dybala, Roma scored 23 goals in 7 matches, while with him they have scored 16 in 8. His absence has helped the rise of Matías Soulé, who has become a technical reference point, and of Rodrigo Mora, who already has 4 Serie A goals. With Dybala back, rotations will now be used to preserve him without slowing the progress of the two young players. According to Corriere dello Sport, a plane could be ready to leave Houston for Rome carrying either Ryan Friedkin or his brother Corbin. The November break is seen as the ideal moment for a transfer meeting with D'Amico and Gasperini, who are tasked with planning moves for January. Roma want to complete a squad still considered short, and they are still searching above all for the attacking winger requested by the coach. Roma return to training at Trigoria this afternoon, with attention focused on Dybala and Svilar. Dybala has overcome a calf injury and is targeting the match against Parma, although his return to group training will be gradual. Svilar will undergo fresh checks in the coming hours, which should clear him to return to action. Mancini is also moving towards recovery, while Rensch still has to shake off an adductor injury. Pellegrini faces a longer layoff and is expected only at the start of 2027. Il Guardian has devoted considerable space to Roma and the two Capital clubs, both still unbeaten after eleven matchdays. The English paper highlights the figures of Gasperini's side, who have scored 31 goals in 11 matches, and praises Rodrigo Mora, who has scored in three consecutive matches and has now been called up to the national team. The open question concerns Dybala's next return, with Mora and Soulé finding more and more room alongside Malen.

Roma's priorities have shifted: a backup for Wesley is no longer a priority, and the club are now focused on strengthening their attack ahead of the winter window. The January market opens early this year, on 28 December, between Christmas and New Year, and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini is reportedly hoping for at least two signings, both in attacking roles. The forward line is short of numbers, and reinforcing it is the absolute priority. Lorenzo Pellegrini will not return until 2027, while Paulo Dybala remains a question mark over his physical condition. Gasperini wants two attacking players. Compared with the summer, the priorities have changed. In the final days of the summer window Roma had also looked at a backup for Wesley, but that is no longer a priority. The coach is willing to keep his group of four wide players, largely thanks to the emergence of Lulli. The 2007-born player has quickly become a fixed point for the Giallorossi and sits ahead of Rensch in the pecking order on the right, often putting pressure on Molina. Balde was recently offered for that role, with his agent the same as Mora's, but all talks are currently frozen. Part of the reason is that a proper transfer summit has yet to take place, and part is that Roma will hunt for forwards to strengthen the attacking unit. Endrick is at the top of the list, but Gittens, van Bommel and Leweling are also under close watch. Kvernadze is considered more difficult to land.

Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini wants to bring in two attacking players, with a striker of pace and thrust the clear priority. Tony D'Amico publicly acknowledged last Saturday that finding such a forward is the aim, a quality the current squad palpably lacks and which was exposed in high-level matches against Manchester, Real and Inter. Endrick is seen as the ideal profile for his technical and athletic qualities. He was deployed in support of the main striker at Lyon a year ago, when Fonseca, who now wants him at Sporting, used him in that role. He has scored 8 goals and provided 8 assists in a few months, a sign of enormous potential that is still largely unexplored. Gasperini would pair him with Malen, with a playmaker behind the front line such as Mora, in a 1-2 attack, and would add a second attacking player alongside him. That second player would be a left-footed winger who can operate as a wide midfielder or a winger, with a profile similar to Moreira: versatile and able to be used in several roles or positions during a match. The alternative would be an attacking midfielder in the mould of Pasalic or Pellegrini, who could come in as part of the rotations. The target is not a deep-lying or central midfielder.

Paulo Dybala remains Gasperini's strongest player at Roma, but the numbers show a side that is becoming less dependent on the Argentine. Without Dybala, Roma scored 23 goals in 7 matches, while with him they have scored 16 in 8. His absence has helped the rise of Matías Soulé, who has become a technical reference point, and of Rodrigo Mora, who already has 4 Serie A goals. With Dybala back, rotations will now be used to preserve him without slowing the progress of the two young players. According to Corriere dello Sport, a plane could be ready to leave Houston for Rome carrying either Ryan Friedkin or his brother Corbin. The November break is seen as the ideal moment for a transfer meeting with D'Amico and Gasperini, who are tasked with planning moves for January. Roma want to complete a squad still considered short, and they are still searching above all for the attacking winger requested by the coach. Roma return to training at Trigoria this afternoon, with attention focused on Dybala and Svilar. Dybala has overcome a calf injury and is targeting the match against Parma, although his return to group training will be gradual. Svilar will undergo fresh checks in the coming hours, which should clear him to return to action. Mancini is also moving towards recovery, while Rensch still has to shake off an adductor injury. Pellegrini faces a longer layoff and is expected only at the start of 2027. Il Guardian has devoted considerable space to Roma and the two Capital clubs, both still unbeaten after eleven matchdays. The English paper highlights the figures of Gasperini's side, who have scored 31 goals in 11 matches, and praises Rodrigo Mora, who has scored in three consecutive matches and has now been called up to the national team. The open question concerns Dybala's next return, with Mora and Soulé finding more and more room alongside Malen.

Gian Piero Gasperini has made clear that Roma need targeted signings in the next transfer window to keep pace in the title race, but the club's ownership has yet to give any explicit signal on backing him. The head coach wants at least one attacking winger and one midfielder to push for the top of the table in the second half of the season. Roma's ambition to fight for the title sits uneasily with the need to plan the January market well in advance. The squad has gaps in certain areas, namely wide players and midfield, and the January window is complex and does not allow for delays. Gasperini believes firmly in the team's potential but feels the need for timely support from the board. How much room the club has will depend on its financial dynamics and the limits imposed by Financial Fair Play rules. The case of Donyell Malen, whose move was blocked in January and later fell through after the change of coach to Emery, shows how difficult it is to add new players without shared and structured planning. Direct contact between Gasperini and Dan Friedkin has been limited so far. Day-to-day dealings have run mainly through CEO John Souloukou and sporting director Tony D'Amico. Roma have not stood still, having opened talks over several profiles, including Logkey, Leweling and Luiz Betabçur. However, the lack of formal guarantees on budgets risks causing friction. Gasperini has been clear that the club needs at least one attacking winger and one midfielder to aim high. The line has been drawn, and the owners' response in the coming weeks will be decisive in showing Roma's real ambitions for the second half of the season.

Mario Hermoso is close to signing a new contract at Roma, with talks having begun last month and a two-year deal reportedly ready. The Spaniard has become one of Gasperini's trusted players after a difficult start to his time in the Italian capital, and his goal in Saturday's 3-0 win over Sassuolo was the latest confirmation of his value, according to Tuttosport's Stefano Gentili. Hermoso's current contract runs until 30 June 2027, after the club exercised its option to extend it last May. The club is now working to go beyond that date. Contract renewals for young players Lulli and De Marzi have already been settled, and the board is now focusing on the Spaniard. The new deal is being discussed as one or two years, with an option for a further season. The salary is expected to be lower than his current one, and both parties are keen to continue together. Signing has yet to take place. Hermoso has played 1,049 minutes so far this season across Serie A and the Champions League, with only Wesley having been used more by Roma. Gasperini, the coach from Grugliasco, has won him over on both a human and footballing level. Hermoso is reported to be fit both physically and mentally, and has rediscovered the feeling of being indispensable in the Italian capital.

Mario Hermoso is close to signing a new two-year contract at Roma, with the club having opened talks to tie down the Spanish centre-back. His current deal runs until 30 June 2027, a date the club reached by exercising an option to extend the agreement last May. Talks have been under way since last month, and the parties are working on an extension of one or two years, possibly with a salary adjustment that would be lower than his current wage, a sign of the strong and mutual desire to keep working together. The move marks a dramatic turnaround. On 31 January 2025, Roma loaned Hermoso to Bayer Leverkusen after just thirteen appearances and one goal, a spell that was hampered by a difficult settling-in period. His return to Trigoria and his meeting with Gian Piero Gasperini have completely reversed his fortunes. The Grugliasco-born coach has turned him into an aggressive defender who is comfortable building play from the back and valuable in the penalty area too. Hermoso has played 1,049 minutes so far this season across Serie A and the Champions League, and only Wesley has been used more by Roma. He has scored three goals in total, two in Serie A and one in Europe. Having established himself as an automatic first choice, Hermoso is now considered an indispensable part of the defence, and keeping him would provide continuity for a back line that has found in the Spaniard a crucial point of reference.

Mario Hermoso is close to signing a contract extension at Roma, with negotiations underway and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini pushing to finalise the agreement. According to La Repubblica, as reported by TeleRadioStereo, the deal would add two more years with an option. The centre-back's current contract expires at the end of the season. Hermoso has enjoyed a strong run in Rome, scoring 8 goals in 49 appearances for the club, three of them in the current campaign. Gasperini was influential in keeping him at the club in the first place. Hermoso joined as a free agent in 2024 after his time at Atlético Madrid, but he struggled to win regular minutes in his first few months. He was loaned to Bayer Leverkusen in January, and a shoulder injury prevented the German side from buying him outright, so he returned to Roma. Hermoso was reportedly on the chopping block in the summer of 2025, until Gasperini took a liking to him. The coach made him a linchpin of the side, as his skill set and dynamism suited his style well. The Real Madrid product also spent time at Espanyol earlier in his career and has five caps for Spain, although he has not been called up since 2019. Gasperini likes good ball handlers and sound athletes in every position, and especially in the 'braccetti' role. Hermoso's goalscoring is a bonus that has served the team well, as they can bring almost the whole side into the final third when they are firing. The extension is seen as a no-brainer, as the financial sums are not expected to be a problem.