Roma await signals from Houston as Gasperini's January plans take shape

Dybala and Mancini have returned to training with the group at Trigoria, with both now in contention for Roma's trip to Parma on 21 November. The squad resumed work after three days' rest with thirteen players away on international duty, and Gian Piero Gasperini used the break to clear the injury list. Paulo Dybala is gradually overcoming a calf injury, while Gianluca Mancini has almost shaken off a muscle complaint. Their responses will be assessed over the coming days, but the chances of both being available at the Tardini are growing. There are also encouraging signs for Mile Svilar, who is still training apart from the group but has put his boots back on after weeks in a protective boot for a foot injury, boosting hopes of his return in goal against Parma. His recovery will also allow Pierluigi Gollini to recover more calmly from the back problem that cost him the last two matches. Gasperini is now looking ahead to the January window and will discuss the matter this week with sporting director Tony D'Amico and chief executive John Galantic. The coach's priority is to add offensive options with a profile offering pace and unpredictability. Three different options are on the club's list, though none has yet become a concrete negotiation. The internal discussions come against a backdrop of a cool and distant relationship between Gasperini and the Friedkin family. No meetings with the ownership are currently planned to define winter strategy, so the talks with D'Amico and Galantic will serve to set priorities and room for manoeuvre while awaiting decisions from the American owners.

Leonardo Balerdi, who left Marseille for Roma, has become one of the pillars of Gian Piero Gasperini's side and is now being considered by Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni to fill the central defensive void left by Otamendi's departure. The Marseille supporters who celebrated his exit in August now have a Roma fan base enjoying his performances instead. Balerdi defends, commands his area, supports attacks and, when he has space, can carry the ball forward. His combination of qualities is reminiscent, in some respects, of the best version of Manolas. Gasperini has repeatedly praised him, and the start to this season has confirmed how important the Argentine has become to the balance of the team. His progress has also not gone unnoticed back home. Scaloni continues to call him up to the national team, and now a new opportunity may open for him. With Otamendi gone, Argentina are searching for a new reference point at the heart of the defence. According to TyC Sports, the Giallorossi defender is among the candidates for a starting berth in the friendly against Uruguay, with Lisandro Martínez expected to partner him. The report underlines how quickly Balerdi has established himself as a key figure at Roma, moving from a player whose departure Marseille supporters welcomed to a central defender the national team is considering for a starting role. A call-up and a starting place against Uruguay would represent a significant step for the 2026-27 season.

Roma are reportedly among several clubs monitoring Atalanta left-back Lorenzo Bernasconi as the January transfer window approaches. According to TUTTOmercatoWEB, Milan, Roma and Newcastle have all moved decisively for the 2003-born defender. Bernasconi, who is owned by Atalanta, has produced consistently high-level performances that have confirmed his rapid development. His consistency and constant attacking thrust down the flank have fuelled international interest in the full-back, who is considered one of the most promising prospects in his position in Italian football. Atalanta, a club long known for its careful approach and for developing its talent, reportedly values the player at between €20 million and €25 million. That figure underlines Atalanta's ambitions and the central role Bernasconi plays in the club's project, and it points to an intense market ahead involving Serie A and the Premier League. The Italian report also carried the usual links to Roma's social channels for free news updates, which are not part of the transfer story itself. For Roma, the interest signals that a left-sided option of this profile is on the club's radar for the winter market, although any move would require Atalanta to agree to a fee within the range reported.

Roma want to keep Marten de Roon, and talks over a contract renewal are beginning, provided things continue as planned and the midfielder wants to keep playing, which is reportedly fairly certain at this stage. The Dutchman, who turns 36 in March, has given strong assurances about his technical and physical condition. The bond between De Roon and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini is reportedly so close that, at some point in the future, the midfielder could even join the coach's staff, according to Il Corriere dello Sport. The former Atalanta captain is looking ahead without getting too far ahead in his thinking, taking things day by day. What matters, he says, is feeling good and having the right motivation. Money is not an issue in the negotiations. De Roon has spoken warmly about Gasperini, who, in his words, changed his life and his career. The report places the renewal talks alongside Roma's efforts to keep Mario Hermoso, with the club looking to retain its experienced defender and midfielder together.

Roma's January transfer window risks becoming one of the pivotal moments of their season, with the club's challenge being to identify the players Gian Piero Gasperini genuinely needs without repeating the improvised mid-season dealings of the past. The summer window closed with at least two unresolved issues, perhaps three: a full-back, preferably left-footed, an attacking winger capable of giving bursts of pace and depth, and, despite the club's own assessments, a fifth central midfielder. The central midfield is probably the most underestimated concern. Manu Koné, Bryan Cristante, Marten de Roon and Niccolò Pisilli form a reliable unit in quality terms, but four players for two places, considering the Champions League, Serie A and the Coppa Italia, is a fairly thin resource. Roma's recent admission that a forward-thinking winger of real pace is the priority, recognising a gap that already emerged at the end of the summer market, was described as an important acknowledgement, since it means the club and the coach have identified a precise need. The question now is whether they can meet it without simply buying someone. January is not July. There are no summer training camps, no preparation weeks and no time to teach Gasperini's football from scratch, a system that demands reading of the game, physical condition, timing and a willingness to sacrifice. Anyone who arrives must be ready almost immediately, because the risk of signing a player who only understands the system by March is far from remote. The experience of Zaragoza and Venturino, signed in a hurry last year and sold just as quickly this summer, should have taught the club something. Those deals were meant to add attacking options but produced a contribution below expectations. What is needed is not necessarily another Grenier, a player brought in to fill a line on the team sheet without really changing the team's possibilities. Better one right signing than three alternatives destined to remain just that, especially as Roma have shown they already have a competitive structure and need to be completed rather than rebuilt. The problem is that this time the calendar will not even allow the luxury of waiting. From 2 to 31 January, Roma will play nine matches across Serie A, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia. The first three come in just eight days: Frosinone on 2 January, Venezia on 5 January and Milan on 9 January. Then comes Verona in the cup, Atalanta, the decisive European fixtures against AEK Athens and Lille, Udinese and Monza. The sequence could steer three competitions at once, making it essential to reach the restart after Christmas with all available resources. The market opens on 1 January, but D'Amico believes the work must be substantially completed well before then. Waiting until the final days to save money could leave Gasperini without reinforcements just as points start to matter more. Equally, rushing through profiles that are not fully convincing simply to present them at Trigoria in the first days of the month would be just as dangerous. That is the balance to strike: being in a hurry without being rushed. Gasperini has shown he can develop a squad built around his ideas, but also that not every player is automatically suited to his style, so January's business must be built on shared choices rather than last-minute opportunities. Roma have already lost too much time in the past trying to correct the mistakes of the previous market. This time they must do something different: complete what works. A reinforcement arriving on 3 January can change a season; the same player arriving on 31 January could find a Roma that has already played nine decisive matches. And certain opportunities, once missed, cannot be recovered with a signing.

Roma's summer recruits have been involved in 36.5% of the club's goals this season, with 15 of the team's 41 strikes involving one of them. Gian Piero Gasperini has relied heavily on seven players who were not part of the squad in the last match of the previous campaign: Nahuel Molina, Marten de Roon, Leonardo Balerdi, Rodrigo Mora, Emanuele Lulli, Santiago Castro and Konstantinos Koulierakis. Lulli came up from the Primavera. Molina has been the most-used player, with 751 minutes, one goal and two assists. He is followed by De Roon (732 minutes), Balerdi (639), Mora (595), Lulli (546), Castro (370) and Koulierakis (225). Gasperini has given minutes to every summer arrival, including the Primavera graduate, showing confidence in the quality of the new players. Mora has been the most productive, with four goals and two assists. His recent form, with a sharp improvement in the latest matches, has eased doubts about the investment made in the summer, reported at €25 million plus 50% of a future resale, for a valuation of €50 million. Across all competitions, the new players have taken part in 15 of Roma's 41 goals. By comparison, at the same stage of last season, Massara's summer signings from that campaign had contributed to just three goals: Wesley with one goal, Ferguson with one assist and Tsimikas with one assist.

Paulo Dybala is back in training at Trigoria with no problems in his calf, and he is expected to be fully available when Roma resume Serie A against Parma on 21 November. The Argentine trained in part of the session with the group, alongside Gianluca Mancini. Barring a late setback, he will be at Gasperini's disposal for the return to league action. Goalkeeper Mile Svilar also returned to the pitch in football boots to carry out differentiated work for the first time without his protective boot. It is a necessary step for the Serbian keeper, who is recovering from a stress fracture to his fifth toe. Svilar is expected to rejoin the group regularly in the coming days and return to the Giallorossi goal. The article notes that Roma have conceded roughly three times as many goals without him between the posts, which it describes as no coincidence. The news is a major boost for Gian Piero Gasperini as the club push in the title race. Gasperini will also have Manu Koné back at full fitness during the international break, after the French midfielder withdrew from the France squad. Gollini is also set to be available again. Lorenzo Pellegrini, however, faces a longer road back and is now aiming to return in 2027. The article adds that tickets for the away trip to Paris to face PSG go on sale from today.

Roman radio pundits have been debating a possible move for Brazilian forward Endrick, with contrasting views on whether he would suit Roma. On David Rossi's Rete Sport show, Rossi said Il Corriere dello Sport reported that both AC Milan and Roma were interested in the player, and that Endrick had said he would not join Milan because the club's symbol is the Devil. Rossi questioned whether that could be credible, adding that when a name is this obvious a deal rarely happens unless it is already done. He also said there was a danger Fonseca wanted Endrick at Sporting, where the player had felt at home under Fonseca at Lyon. "Endrick is a fantastic player," Rossi said. "Gittens may play on the left, but between him and Endrick there are, for me, three categories of difference." The debate comes as Roma are in the title conversation. Gianluca Piacentini named three reasons to believe in the scudetto: the league's strongest coach, room to improve through the January transfer market, and a levelled-down Serie A, which he said was shown by Lazio sitting top of the table. He said he hoped the race would be between Roma and Inter. Piacentini also criticised the 'atleta di Cristo' explanation, saying it was not a fair criterion for choosing a destination. Fabio Petruzzi said Endrick sees little of the pitch and may want to leave to play regularly, adding that if he has not played while Vinicius was suspended for four matches, he will never play. He said that if he were an attacker, Gasperini is the first coach he would want to work with, and that Endrick, a left-footed player, can play on the left. Mario Corsi said the Mora-Endrick comparison was a trap because the two are completely different players. He said Endrick has a strong shot, dribbling and heading ability, and that strong players must be signed. He said Malen should not be deployed on the wing because he must stay in the middle, and that Gasperini and D'Amico had not heard from Friedkin for a long time and were somewhat worried. "If they really want to win, they have to make this move." Francesca Ferrazza said Roma need two forwards with Pellegrini gone, and that Endrick offers the best value for money. Lorenzo Pes said Malen's frequent substitutions also happened last year, and that Retegui at Atalanta rarely finished matches. Valentina Catoni said that when Dybala is fit he always plays. Piero Torri recalled Mourinho saying Endrick would not leave Madrid, noted that the Brazil international has started only one match, and said Endrick is a second striker who would sit behind Soulé and Dybala. Roberto Pruzzo said Endrick wants to play and that Italian football has become a second-tier league. Nando Orsi argued Roma need a right-footed winger who plays on the left, and that Endrick would be of little use with Castro already in the squad. Mario Mattioli warned that bringing Endrick into the Roma dressing room could be an unwanted explosion, calling him very difficult to manage and saying he would have to play always and in every match. "He is not a dressing-room man," Mattioli said, adding that Endrick is not the man who says "let's arm ourselves and set off" when a common effort is needed.

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.