Roma's Nusa pursuit clouded by price and fitness concerns as Friedkin seeks to avoid another Milik situation

Lorenzo Pellegrini is still waiting for his contract extension to be finalised. The Roma captain dined at the Roman trattoria I Ciarli with teammate Gianluca Mancini on Monday evening, while continuing to train with a personal fitness coach in the capital. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini is keen to secure the renewal, as is Bryan Cristante, who remarked: "We can't wait to see him back with us in the group." The final sign-off from the Friedkin Group remains outstanding. Pellegrini has already agreed to a salary reduction, but disagreement persists over the contract length. The player favours a three-year deal, while the club is pushing for a two-year agreement. Both sides are expected to continue negotiations over the coming days.

The Friedkin Group faces mounting frustration not only from Roma supporters over the club's sluggish transfer window, but also from Everton fans. Roma have yet to spend any money in the summer market, while Everton have only acquired three players: George and Rohl through permanent deals, and Hackney, signed for €19 million. The gap between the two clubs' activity has prompted English supporters to publicly challenge the ownership, with Roma's priority remaining a left-sided winger and Everton desperately needing a right-back. Everton supporters have been particularly vocal on social media, directly addressing the ownership's transfer strategy. One fan wrote: "Move, we cannot have another season without full-backs." Others drew comparisons between Roma's approach and Everton's, questioning the disparity in spending power. One critic stated: "The Friedkin Group should explain why Roma can spend €46 million for a player who has been relegated while Everton has not started any negotiation for a left-sided player, let alone a new striker." The Roma reference reflects the reported €46 million offer for Summerville, a player recently relegated with Leeds United. For both Roma and Everton, the summer transfer window has not yet delivered the reinforcements either fanbase believes necessary, leaving Dan and Ryan Friedkin facing criticism on two fronts.

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.