Roma pursue Castro as backup to Malen; Bologna contacts ongoing

Roma's summer transfer market remains frozen with no new arrivals by late July, frustrating head coach Gasperini who expected reinforcements at Trigoria. Targets Mason Greenwood and Luis Summestre have already fallen through, while director D'Amico searches for the opening piece of the window. El Mala and Alexander Nusa top the priority list, though the Norwegian's high asking price and injury history give The Friedkin Group pause—they are reluctant to take on another injury-prone signing and have delayed movement. Nusa has not yet signalled openness to Roma. The pursuit of Tresoldi has become complicated despite the German's willingness to join. Club Brugge's steep demands are slowing negotiations. Fresh names emerging at Trigoria include Castro and Oscar Bobb, while midfielder Franck Kessié remains a live possibility. Noa Lang was offered to Roma in attack, but the club rejected the proposition, seeking different profiles for the forward line. Patience is wearing thin both among Roma supporters and sections of Everton's fanbase, who have begun to lose confidence in the Americans' transfer strategy. Ryan Friedkin has returned to the United States.

A meeting is scheduled for Monday regarding Roma's new stadium project. In the transfer market, Roma have made contact with RB Leipzig over winger Nusa, but Leipzig value the player highly and there remains a significant gap between the clubs' valuations. Nusa has not yet opened the door to a Roma move. Roma have also been proposed numerous other wide players, including Luiz Henrique of Zenit, though he was not pursued. Meanwhile, Gian Piero Gasperini and the Roma squad await the return of Lorenzo Pellegrini following injury. The midfielder wants to secure a contract renewal and has accepted reducing his salary, but a key sticking point remains: Pellegrini is pushing for a three-year deal while the club currently offers only two years. Nevertheless, both the player and the club show clear willingness to stay together. After Roma's friendly against Trastevere, Bryan Cristante spoke openly about his teammate, emphasising the squad is waiting for Pellegrini with open arms. Pellegrini was also spotted dining with Gianluca Mancini at a Roman trattoria, a signal of his continued bond with the group. Elsewhere, Roma are tracking Franck Kessié as Juventus pursue the midfielder. Juventus have been in contact for several weeks but no agreement has been reached, with salary and squad integration among points still to be finalised. Roma are prepared to move decisively should Manu Koné depart.

Roma has made Nusa their primary attacking target after missing out on Greenwood and Summerville, but the road to signing the Norwegian winger from Leipzig remains steep. The club has opened initial contact with the Bundesliga side, yet Leipzig continues to resist, particularly given they are already losing Diomande. A significant gap remains between Roma's offer and Leipzig's asking price, while Nusa himself has not yet warmed to a move to the capital. Gasperini views Nusa as the ideal fit for his tactical system, making him an attractive option for Roma's rebuild. However, the combination of Leipzig's reluctance to sell, the valuation dispute, and the player's lack of enthusiasm has made the pursuit challenging. The sense at Roma is that director D'Amico is exploring alternative options as the Nusa deal stalls. One such alternative is Said El Mala, a 2006-born talent from Cologne who appeals to Roma's recruitment team. Cologne value El Mala at approximately 50 million euros, presenting another avenue the club may pursue if the Nusa negotiation fails to progress.

Rome's radio stations have weighed in on Roma's summer transfer activity, with prominent voices expressing scepticism about the club's pursuit of winger Nusa and questioning the overall direction of the market strategy. Francesco Balzani said: "According to me Nusa is all smoke and mirrors, I believe there are few chances of seeing him at Roma. The Giallorossi are behind on everything. Roma a month before the start of the championship is worse than last year." Lorenzo Pes echoed the concerns, stating: "Nusa does not convince from a physical point of view. At this moment behind Malen there are Dovbyk who is leaving and Vaz who is not at the centre of the project. I think that Nusa is a distraction in order to try this time to stay more hidden on the real objectives. For me the real names are others." Piero Torri argued that any market talk beyond external positions is designed to divert attention from Roma's primary need: "Any market voice other than that of the wingers is a voice to divert attention from what Roma is doing. Now the main objective is to make the wingers." Marco Juric raised fitness concerns about Nusa's knee condition and questioned coach Gian Piero Gasperini's long-term recruitment vision. Roberto Pruzzo, Roma legend, expressed frustration with how negotiations have unfolded, suggesting that players have used Roma to extract better offers from other clubs: "When you have the agreement with the player you feel protected, but it is not so, and the latest situations are demonstrating it." Mario Mattioli placed Roma's struggles in a broader context, arguing that Italian football lacks the economic firepower to compete with European rivals.

Roma have made their first official offer of approximately €35 million to Brugge for striker Nicolò Tresoldi, but the Belgian club have rejected the approach. The 2004-born Italian-German forward has been identified by head coach Gian Piero Gasperini as a quality alternative to Donyell Malen or a potential partner in a two-striker system. Roma are working across multiple fronts in the transfer market as the league season approaches in roughly a month, with Gasperini still awaiting new additions to his squad. Brugge's stance is to retain Tresoldi, and the club will only consider selling if an offer becomes irresistible. The pursuit reflects Roma's ongoing efforts to strengthen their attacking options ahead of the new campaign. With the window active and concrete bids now being tabled, Roma face the challenge of either increasing their offer or pivoting to alternative targets as they seek to bolster their forward line.

Vice-president Ryan Friedkin arrived at Roma's Trigoria training ground on 14 July to inject momentum into the summer transfer window, having successfully brokered deals during his January visit — most notably the arrival of Donyell Malen, who played a central role in Roma's push to the Champions League. This summer's mission has proved less fruitful. Two primary targets, Greenwood and Summerville, have already fallen through, with the American ownership expressing doubts about spending €50 million on the latter. Roma have also suffered the blow of Çelik signing with Juventus despite an oral agreement being in place. Gasperini had been awaiting Friedkin's arrival on 13 July, the first day of pre-season. With the window stalling, Friedkin has already returned to the United States within the past 48 hours, and no return date has yet been set. He may attend Cannes–Roma, a pre-season friendly between the two Friedkin-owned clubs, on Sunday, though that remains uncertain. The new transfer target is now Nusa, and Ryan will monitor negotiations from afar.

Rome's radio stations have weighed in on Roma's summer transfer activity, with prominent voices expressing scepticism about the club's pursuit of winger Nusa and questioning the overall direction of the market strategy. Francesco Balzani said: "According to me Nusa is all smoke and mirrors, I believe there are few chances of seeing him at Roma. The Giallorossi are behind on everything. Roma a month before the start of the championship is worse than last year." Lorenzo Pes echoed the concerns, stating: "Nusa does not convince from a physical point of view. At this moment behind Malen there are Dovbyk who is leaving and Vaz who is not at the centre of the project. I think that Nusa is a distraction in order to try this time to stay more hidden on the real objectives. For me the real names are others." Piero Torri argued that any market talk beyond external positions is designed to divert attention from Roma's primary need: "Any market voice other than that of the wingers is a voice to divert attention from what Roma is doing. Now the main objective is to make the wingers." Marco Juric raised fitness concerns about Nusa's knee condition and questioned coach Gian Piero Gasperini's long-term recruitment vision. Roberto Pruzzo, Roma legend, expressed frustration with how negotiations have unfolded, suggesting that players have used Roma to extract better offers from other clubs: "When you have the agreement with the player you feel protected, but it is not so, and the latest situations are demonstrating it." Mario Mattioli placed Roma's struggles in a broader context, arguing that Italian football lacks the economic firepower to compete with European rivals.

Gian Piero Gasperini is closely monitoring Mandjou Camara, a 2009-born Guinean forward who made an impression in Roma's friendly against Trastevere. The match saw Roma field a largely youth-team lineup, with only Gollini, Ziółkowski, Ghilardi, Angeliño and Dovbyk from the senior squad on the pitch. While Arena scored, Camara stole the spotlight with several impressive moments despite not finding the net. During the second half, Gasperini's assistant Gritti positioned himself on the right flank to guide Camara's movements, calling out instructions such as "Drop back", "Shoot", and "Don't stay too deep". Camara is expected to join Roma's pre-season training camp in Wales, giving Gasperini further opportunity to assess his development. Camara arrived at Roma as the final signing from the youth academy oversight of Alberto De Rossi, who departed the club on 30 June after more than 32 years. Roma acquired him on a free transfer after he left SPAL. He began the season in the Under 17 category before being promoted to the Under 18 squad under Mattia Scala, who now coaches the Primavera. In thirty matches, Camara has registered eleven goals and nine assists. His one-on-one ability and dribbling have impressed Gasperini, who is working to facilitate his next step forward, though some technical refinement remains needed. Vinicius Junior is his inspiration.

Roma are pushing to sign Nicolò Tresoldi from Club Brugge as they hunt for a deputy to Donyell Malen. An in-principle agreement has been reached with the 2004-born forward to fend off competition from Borussia Dortmund and Atlético Madrid. Crucially, Tresoldi's father is backing the move to Italy, strengthening Roma's hand in negotiations. The sticking point remains Brugge's valuation. Sporting director D'Amico has offered 25 million euros, but the Belgian club is demanding a further 10 million on top. If the Tresoldi deal stalls, Roma have identified Riccardo Castro of Bologna as an alternative, though the Emilia-Romagna side are demanding 40 million euros. Meanwhile, Roma are also reshaping their striker options: Artem Dovbyk is available for departure, and academy product Robinio Vaz could move out on loan.