Roma scouts watch Brugge winger Carlos Forbs at San Siro

Roma are reportedly monitoring Brugge winger Carlos Forbs as sporting director D'Amico works on January reinforcements to strengthen areas of the squad that are currently thin. The aim, according to the report, is to identify players who suit the style of head coach Gasperini, with Roma wanting to keep their challenge alive after a strong start to the league season. Forbs, a 22-year-old attacking winger who plays for both Portugal and Guinea, is under contract at Brugge until 2029. Citing the portal Transferfeed, the report says Roma have already sent scouts to San Siro for the match against Inter, and the player has been watched on several occasions. Competition is strong, however, with Tottenham and Manchester United also interested. Spanish and German clubs tried to sign him over the summer, and the name of Fiorentina has also been linked with him. The asking price is a significant hurdle. In August 2026, Club Brugge were reportedly demanding around 30 million euros for the player.

Jorge Mendes is working to arrange the departure of his client Alejandro Balde from Barcelona, who is not playing as much as he would like, and has offered the left-back to Roma in recent days. The Giallorossi were keen on the player in the summer and did not reject the suggestion, Il Messaggero reports, via AllFootball. Roma are missing a left-footed specialist, but their wing-backs have been solid so far. Emanuele Lulli has been an early revelation and recently extended his contract until 2031. Balde has featured just three times this campaign. Juventus are also close to Mendes and tracked Balde in the past, but Barcelona placed a €40/50M price tag on him and the Bianconeri did not proceed. That price could be significantly lower a few months later, but Balde is under contract until 2029, so the Catalans still hold plenty of leverage. The negotiation could be eased by including Andrea Cambiaso in the deal. He is far from untouchable for Juventus, but they still value him highly, at about €30M. Juventus would rather part ways with Juan Cabal, but would pull the trigger on Cambiaso's sale for a worthy offer. January often presents this kind of opportunity, but Balde's price tag is out of reach for Italian sides unless the parties get creative. Roma can comfortably stay as they are on the flanks. Their move would be to part ways with Devyne Rensch and bring in a left-footer. Juventus have struggled to find destinations Cambiaso might like after Manchester City approached him in the past, and Barcelona would offer an excellent escape route.

Paulo Dybala's comeback has been pushed back again, and the article suggests the long-term answer to his repeated absences lies in the transfer market. The Argentine was not called up for Roma's most recent match and, according to Gian Piero Gasperini's words, will probably also miss the trip to Udine next Saturday. His return could slip as far as 7 November, against Sassuolo, the last league match before the international break. The delay is especially awkward because Roma face a demanding Champions League trip to Manchester United on 3 November, and the chances of Dybala being available for that match now look significantly reduced. The article notes that a return that seemed imminent has become a concrete risk of missing three more matches, a considerable difference for a Roma side already fighting on several fronts and already dealing with heavy absences. After the 4-2 win over Cagliari, Gasperini was candid about the situation. He said: "Paulo always takes a little more time to recover from injuries", admitting that the optimism of recent days had not been confirmed on the pitch. He pointed to Sassuolo as a possible return date, without offering certainty. The injury was initially described as a strain to the calf's twin muscle, before a small muscle tear was detected. The article stresses that a small tear does not necessarily mean a quick recovery, particularly when the aim is to avoid a relapse in a high-intensity match, and that the medical staff's caution is understandable. The article argues that when Dybala is fit he remains hard to replace, praising his ability to read the game, find passes invisible to others, create assists and give quality to the attacking play. It recalls the early weeks of the season, when he was playing at a very high level and had become one of the team's technical reference points. He has not yet scored his first goal of the season, but his contribution to creating chances and handling the ball in the final thirty metres has been decisive. Without him, Roma lose something that cannot be replaced simply by changing a player. Soulé has talent and creativity but different characteristics, and Rodrigo Mora is growing and decided a match against Cagliari with his own moves, yet he is still very young and cannot be asked to shoulder the responsibility of a technical leader every time. The article's conclusion is that the Dybala question is now a matter of squad building rather than only a medical one. Roma should not give up on the Joya but should build a team that can afford to wait for him. Dybala's contract runs until June 2027, and the club must decide in the coming months whether to continue together, a judgement that will weigh his performance, the economic cost and his real availability over the season. Gasperini has already stressed the need to widen the options available, especially in attack, and the coming January could offer an important chance to act. The article says the aim is not a Dybala clone but another player of real standing who can offer solutions between the lines, create numerical superiority and increase the team's danger.