Roma director says squad needs reinforcement in January

Donyell Malen was honoured as the EA Sports FC Player of the Month for this season by Lega Serie A before Roma's match against Genoa at the Stadio Olimpico in matchday 7, despite being unavailable to play due to suspension following a red card received in the fixture against Como. The Dutch forward attended the stadium to support the squad despite his inability to feature. Malen received the award in a pre-match ceremony at the ground where Roma faced their visitors.

Donyell Malen was awarded Serie A's player of the month by Lega Serie A ahead of Roma's match against Genoa at the Olimpico on 17 October, recognised for his six goals in the opening five matchdays of the season. The Dutch forward will miss the fixture through suspension following a red card at Como, though he plans to support his teammates from the stands throughout the match. Malen has been overtaken in the scoring chart by Raimondo but remains confident of resuming his goalscoring form from next matchday. The Real Madrid defence, among others, has already experienced his threat. The award reflects a remarkable period in which Malen has redefined standards in Italian football across recent months.

Tony D'Amico has signalled Roma's intention to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window, acknowledging that the current roster requires reinforcement to compete at the highest level. Speaking to Sky Sport ahead of the Genoa match, D'Amico addressed the gap between Gasperini's ambition and the squad's current capacity. "To face certain competitions and compete in matches like Wednesday's and hold our position in the league, we will need another step, to add something," he said. "We tried in summer and didn't manage it, but we work every day to improve ourselves." D'Amico defended Roma's summer recruitment strategy despite the failed attempts to strengthen further. The club pursued a youth-led overhaul while retaining an important core group, a balance D'Amico described as the intended formula. He praised the young players set to feature against Genoa—specifically Mora and Castro—as quality signings on whom the club invested heavily. "We expect them to confirm what we've seen in training. They are quality lads we invested a lot in over summer. The green line began in summer while maintaining an important historic group—it's the mix we wanted at the start of the market and we got it." When asked about loan moves for surplus stars from larger clubs, D'Amico outlined Roma's transfer philosophy: "Our policy is to take strong players, that comes first. Then, when you take players on loan there are options you can insert. We as Roma would always want the possibility of keeping whoever we take on loan—that's the line." The comments suggest Roma will pursue permanent options or loans with purchase clauses rather than simple temporary deals in January.