Roma close in on Mora deal: €25m upfront plus 50% sell-on clause

Roma came close to signing Endrick, but José Mourinho intervened to stop the move. Mourinho made a phone call in the hours before the Brazilian was due to travel to the capital, persuading him to remain at Madrid instead. Endrick has received minimal playing time at his current club and is likely to depart in January, following the pattern of a temporary move to Lyon that took place a year earlier.

Midfielder Romano, loaned to Cagliari with a mandatory €6.5 million buy clause, has emerged as one of Serie A's most promising performers this season and has attracted Inter's attention. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter are preparing ground to attempt to bring him to Milan, with the club's interest depending partly on the renewal of Calhanoglu. Inter's strategy is to move early, avoid auction competition, and closely monitor the midfielder's development. The 2006-born player has impressed with his performances, personality and consistency, playing a leading role in Cagliari's strong start to the campaign. Roma inserted a 10 per cent resale clause into the deal, a provision that now carries particular weight given Inter's pursuit. The question lingers whether Roma released one of its talents too early, though the giallorossi have kept a door open through that clause. Cagliari naturally have no intention of selling at a discount. In fact, Romano's performances and Inter's interest could push his valuation upwards. A fee above €20 million is already being discussed, and if the midfielder maintains his current level, the price could rise further.

Roma radio pundits offered their assessments of the club's prospects ahead of the fixture against Como and the broader competitive landscape. The panel discussed the impact of the international break and squad rotation, with several commentators noting that Roma retained key players at Trigoria during the break while Como had numerous squad members on international duty. Lorenzo Pes addressed the ongoing UEFA Financial Fair Play investigation, saying that Roma's leadership at Trigoria is not strongly worried about the matter. "The Roma has reduced costs and, as of today, a heavy fine is the most probable hypothesis," he stated. Pes also touched on transfer activity in the final days of the window, specifically the Chelsea interest in Manu Koné. According to Pes, Chelsea made an approach on the final day of the transfer window, which Roma rejected. "The Blues' interest was important: between 31 August and 1 September there was some hesitation on Roma's part, but then they didn't flinch," Pes explained. "For Gasperini, Koné is very important: if he had to give him up, it wouldn't have been in the last days of the market." Other commentators focused on tactical and squad matters. Giancarlo Padovan highlighted Rodrigo Mora's recent performance with Portugal Under 21, describing him as still mysterious but too early to judge. Piero Torri suggested Mora could emerge as a decisive factor in the upcoming fixture against Real Madrid. Alessandro Vocalelli noted that October presents a demanding stretch for Roma, while Luigi Ferrajolo termed the Como match "indecipherable" but suggested Roma could exploit the tactical approach of Como's manager Fabregas.

Donyell Malen has won the Serie A player of the month award for September (which includes August). The Dutch forward scored six goals in his first five league matches, a start that earned him the honour. Malen will receive the award during Roma's match against Genoa. A special Malen card is also being released in the FC27 video game. Malen will lead Roma's attack in the fixture against Como on Sunday, 11 October, when the team resumes their campaign. He missed international duty with a minor knee problem, but his condition is not a cause for concern. Paulo Dybala will partner him in attack, with a contest between Rodrigo Mora and Matías Soulé to fill the midfield role behind them.

Roma enter a critical period from 11 October that will reveal whether their depth can match their starting XI. Between the away trip to Como and the home fixture against Sassuolo on 7 November, the Giallorossi will play nine matches in 28 days—six in Serie A and three in the UEFA Champions League—at an average of one game every three days. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has built his team around a recognisable core of first-choice players, but that group will no longer be enough. The test will determine whether those who have played less can step up without a noticeable drop in performance. Through the first five matchdays, the numbers reveal Gasperini's structural priorities. Goalkeeper Mile Svilar has not missed a minute in the league; Bryan Cristante has played 424 minutes, Mario Hermoso 419, Paulo Dybala 407 and Gianluca Mancini 392. Eight players have exceeded 300 minutes, forming the nucleus around which the team has built its current lead. Donyell Malen has scored six goals in five league matches and become the technical reference point of the attack, while Dybala has contributed four assists. Cristante, Hermoso and Mancini have provided near-absolute continuity and reliability. The midfield partnership of Cristante and Manu Koné has been the reference pairing, with different but complementary characteristics, while Marten de Roon and Niccolò Pisilli have seen far less action. De Roon knows Gasperini's football intimately and can guarantee balance and reading of play, but has been used mainly in brief spells; Pisilli brings dynamism and runs forward but must prove he can perform when the opponent's quality rises. Matches against Real Madrid, Napoli and Manchester United will inevitably create minutes for both. The defence faces similar pressures. Mancini and Hermoso have been almost untouchable, but the competition behind them is abundant: Leonardo Balerdi, Daniele Ghilardi and Konstantinos Koulierakis must transform from alternatives into genuinely interchangeable options. Ghilardi has already accumulated 142 league minutes, while Koulierakis has been used far less despite the summer investment. In Gasperini's system, where defenders are asked to accept constant individual duels and play far from their goal, changing a centre-back is never a neutral substitution—the player entering must have fully absorbed the line's timing, aggression and mechanics. On the flanks, rotations will be equally unavoidable. Wesley has been heavily used, young Emanuele Lulli has been a major surprise, and Nahuel Molina has collected 216 Serie A minutes with two starts. Devyne Rensch has found the least space but has always proved reliable. In attack, Matías Soulé has already broken down the distinction between starter and reserve with 279 minutes, three starts, two goals and an assist. Rodrigo Mora has 171 league minutes and a goal across two starts but has seen his space diminish. Santiago Castro has played little and never started in the league, while Lorenzo Pellegrini arrives after a long absence from official matches and must regain rhythm and standing. The fixture list permits no simple calculations. Como, Real Madrid, Genoa, Slovan Bratislava, Napoli, Cagliari, Udinese, Manchester United and Sassuolo in less than a month means there are no real matches in which to field eleven reserves and rest everyone else. Gasperini must continually shuffle the cards, retaining six or seven men from the core structure each time and progressively introducing others. Roma has shown a competitive first eleven so far; in the next four weeks it must prove it has something more—sixteen or eighteen players capable of sustaining the same level. If the goal is to stay in the highest reaches of Serie A while being competitive in the Champions League, the quality of alternatives becomes almost as important as that of the starters.

Rodrigo Mora (19) starred for Portugal Under 21 in a 4–0 qualifying victory over Gibraltar for the Under 21 European Championship. Playing 60 minutes, the Roma midfielder opened the scoring with a spectacular overhead kick from around the penalty spot and delivered playmaking displays throughout the match, earning a standing ovation when he was substituted. Mora's performance underlined his quality as a creative midfielder and reinforces Roma's depth in the position. His contribution to Portugal's qualifying campaign continues his development at club level.