Roma shifts focus to Garnacho as Chelsea blocks loan move

Roma have secured defender Oosterwolde from Fenerbahçe on a deal that will see him arrive in the capital between late evening on 24 August and during 25 August. The transfer is structured as a loan with a €1 million fee, plus a €15 million purchase option and €2 million in bonuses. The option will become an obligation if Oosterwolde makes at least 15 appearances of 45 minutes or more. The move has been agreed after discussions accelerated in recent hours, with Roma completing the final details with the Turkish club. Before departing for Amsterdam and then Rome, Oosterwolde told Turkish reporters: "I am sad to have left Fenerbahçe, unfortunately the decision was made that I should go. I love the Fenerbahçe fans very much, please continue to support the team."

Jayden Oosterwolde is set to become Roma's fifth summer signing, with the transfer from Fenerbahçe finalized. The Dutch defender will arrive on a loan deal worth €1 million, with a right of purchase valued at €15 million plus €2 million in bonuses. Crucially, the right transforms into an obligation to buy if Oosterwolde reaches 15 appearances of at least 45 minutes each during the season—a clause that ties the permanent transfer directly to his playing time. Oosterwolde is recovering from a muscle injury but has already resumed running and will soon link up with his new teammates under head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. The 25-year-old left-back joins a squad that has been actively strengthened this summer as Roma prepare for the 2026–27 season. In a farewell message to Fenerbahçe, Oosterwolde told A Spor: "I am sad to leave Fenerbahçe, unfortunately the decision has been made to send me away." He added: "I love the Fenerbahçe fans, please continue to support the team." Oosterwolde will travel first to the Netherlands before heading to Rome to begin his new adventure.

Jonathan Rowe is set to join Atalanta for more than €30 million after a strong season at Bologna last year. Before closing the deal for Santiago Castro, Bologna had proposed the English winger to Roma's sporting director D'Amico, according to Alfredo Pedullà. Roma appreciated Rowe's profile but chose to pursue other targets and secure the financial terms to bring in a backup to Malen instead. The Giallorossi remain in search of a right-footed winger after the operation to sign Jayden Oosterwolde, who will arrive in the capital in the coming hours for medical examinations and to sign his contract.

Roma take on Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico at 20:45 in the opening fixture of the Serie A season. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has named a 22-man squad for the match, with all new signings included in the selection. The squad omits Lorenzo Pellegrini and Devyne Rensch. In goal, Gasperini has selected Mile Svilar, Giorgio De Marzi, and Pierluigi Gollini. The defence includes Konstantinos Koulierakis, Evan N'Dicka, Nahuel Molina, Mario Hermoso, Gianluca Mancini, Jan Ziółkowski, Wesley, Lulli, and Daniele Ghilardi. Midfield options are Bryan Cristante, Neil El Aynaoui, Manu Koné, Niccolò Pisilli, and Rodrigo Mora. Attacking players named are Santiago Castro, Donyell Malen, Matías Soulé, Paulo Dybala, and Robinio Vaz.

Roma face Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico this evening at 21:00 in their Serie A season opener. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has recalled Wesley and Pisilli after both missed the friendly against Borussia Dortmund on 15 August. Rensch is unavailable due to a muscle strain, and Pellegrini is also absent from the squad. Rodrigo Mora receives his first call-up for the club, competing with Matías Soulé for the attacking midfielder role. The squad list spans defenders Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Ziółkowski, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi; midfielders Cristante, El Aynaoui, Koné, Pisilli and Mora; and attackers Castro, Malen, Soulé, Dybala and Vaz.

Gian Piero Gasperini has named his Roma squad for tonight's Serie A opener against Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico, kick-off 20:45. Rodrigo Mora, who arrived from Porto in recent days, has been included in a convocation for the first time and is immediately available. Wesley and Niccolò Pisilli are also in the squad. Devyne Rensch is absent due to a left hamstring strain, while Lorenzo Pellegrini continues his recovery and is unavailable. The squad includes young winger Emanuele Lulli among the full-backs. Gasperini's 23-man list comprises goalkeepers Svilar, De Marzi and Gollini; defenders Koulierakis, Ndicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Ziolkowski, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi; midfielders Cristante, El Aynaoui, Koné, Pisilli and Mora; and forwards Castro, Malen, Soulé, Dybala and Vaz.

Gian Piero Gasperini arrived at Roma in June with ambitions to sign elite attacking talent such as Mason Greenwood, Luis Summerville or Alexander Nusa, but faces the close of the transfer window having settled for younger, more sustainable prospects. Oosterwolde is expected to arrive in the coming days as one of two final signings, but the manager's publicly measured tone masks deeper disappointment at what proved achievable against his original vision for the squad. The shift reflects the club's financial constraints under UEFA's settlement agreement with Roma. The constraint has not only limited inbound spending but appears to have narrowly governed outbound movement as well. On 21 July, Roma sent a private aircraft to Rotterdam to pursue Summerville, whose transfer would have cost €53 million in fees plus €4 million in annual wages including bonuses. When that move collapsed, Gasperini suggested the dynamics altered: "Perhaps if we had done Summerville we couldn't have done anything else. Or perhaps his contract was sustainable at that moment." The comment hints that Roma's operational budget suddenly contracted mid-window, forcing a change in strategy communicated by ownership during a meeting at a location in Wales. The timing and scale of other moves support this reading. After Al Hilal's counter-offer prompted Roma to act quickly, the club signed Castro (€36 million plus €3 million add-ons), Koulierakis (€16.5 million plus €1.5 million) and Molina (€13 million plus €4 million—an unplanned expense given the earlier expectation Çelik would remain). A club source indicated that "Roma has already had two payment deferrals with UEFA and cannot have more. Now comes the reckoning." The new stance, communicated as ownership's direction, prioritizes younger profiles over established names, regardless of sporting ambition. Gasperini blamed the Financial Fair Play framework: "It is limiting; perhaps Roma is the only club in Italy that must pay this price." The tension between what he sought and what the transfer market delivered will shape his approach to the new season.

Roma's transfer window has been solid on paper, but a sense of incompleteness lingers as the 2026–27 season approaches. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini harboured genuine title ambitions and believed the club could break free from the trophy drought that has gripped Roma since 2001 with a pair of elite signings. Names such as Greenwood, Summerville, Nusa and Fofana circulated—not transcendental acquisitions, but players who could have offered greater guarantees to a squad that has failed to close the gap with Inter and Napoli. Instead, Roma finds itself lumped among Como, Milan, Juventus and Atalanta in what the article describes as "the usual free-for-all". While the squad is objectively stronger than it was a year ago—with changes such as Castro for Dovbyk, Molina for Çelik, and Mora for Bailey—no blockbuster arrival materialised. Gasperini has acknowledged both D'Amico's serious work and the communication difficulties with the Friedkin Group ownership. Roma avoided selling major players, a point in its favour, yet failed to offload the figures whose departures might have unlocked genuine transformation. The question of whether that constitutes merit or fault remains open. Even the most optimistic voices cannot claim Roma is positioned as Inter's antidote this season, nor can anyone expect the kind of transfer signing that would have forced police deployment at Rome's airports. Gasperini is acutely aware the squad does not possess title credentials—arguably not even Champions League credentials, despite finishing third last season on a photo-finish. The breakthrough he sought was meant to unlock funds throttled by UEFA agreement complications that have clouded recent years. Instead, "the reckoning" will arrive in the coming months, after which title dreams may finally take root. Much will depend on Paulo Dybala's form, the promises of Mora and the consistency of Donyell Malen. Ten days remain before the season begins, and that nagging sense of "I would but I cannot" has not yet lifted.

Gian Piero Gasperini defended Roma's transfer approach at his pre-match press conference on 22 August, two days before the Serie A opener against Fiorentina at the Olimpico. The coach confirmed that UEFA financial regulations have forced a strategic shift in the market, compounding constraints that stem from years of previous spending. "The profile is only that of UEFA; there are no other possibilities," Gasperini said. "There are situations that UEFA imposes and from which our ownership, even wanting to, cannot escape. I thought that after six months or with arrival in the Champions League the situation would be resolved, but it is not so." Gasperini emphasised that Roma remain the only Italian club currently under UEFA supervision. "Roma has already had two deferrals and probably cannot have any more," he noted. "Now the reckoning has arrived, but we will do well anyway." Despite those constraints, he expressed satisfaction with arrivals in the window. Álex Molina replaced Zeki Çelik after winning the World Cup two months earlier; Christos Koulierakis joined as a defensive profile the squad lacked; and Rodrigo Mora arrived as a young long-term investment. Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson departed, replaced by Mateo Castro. El Shaarawy, Bryan Zaragoza, Angeliño and Kostas Tsimikas also left. Gasperini stated: "All the players who arrived have strongly wanted to come to Roma. They have also reduced their salaries—and under this aspect I believe very positive work has been done. There are still ten days of the market left and we hope to complete everything." On the left wing position that Roma had pursued, Gasperini offered flexibility: "Only if he can be added value, otherwise I am not going to load myself with players just for the sake of it." Numerically, two squad slots remain available from a full complement of 23. He praised Paulo Dybala, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan Cristante for accepting significant wage cuts. On Dybala's fitness prospects, Gasperini said: "I am certain, because I see him not only determined as he was last year but also particularly strong. He completed a pre-season perhaps for the first time without injuries." Dybala suffered two serious injuries last season—one requiring meniscus surgery that sidelined him for three and a half months. Gasperini stated that further squad exits may follow only if they represent tactical switches rather than pure departures. "If there are other exits it is only for changes, to switch," he said. "In this moment there is nothing certain." The window closes in ten days. Roma finished last season on 73 points and third place in Serie A, but Gasperini stressed the slate resets: "Every year you start from zero. What was done was very positive and satisfactory for all, but when the season starts everyone begins at 0 points and the 73 points from last year must be played again."

Roma begin their 2026–27 campaign against a revamped Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico on matchday one. Gian Piero Gasperini's side will field a largely unchanged defensive line: Svilar in goal behind Mancini, N'Dicka and Hermoso. Koné and Cristante anchor the midfield, with Wesley deployed on one flank and Lulli—who replaces the off-colour Molina—on the other. Matías Soulé starts ahead of Rodrigo Mora in the attacking midfield slot, with Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen forming the front pair against Fiorentina manager Grosso's defence. Although Gasperini can call on new arrivals, the composition of the starting XI reveals few changes from last season's blueprint. Wesley lines up in the three-back system that Gasperini has favoured, while the midfield remains built around Cristante's experience. Lulli's selection offers the element of surprise on the flank. Roma XI: Svilar; Mancini, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Wesley, Cristante, Koné, Lulli; Soulé; Dybala, Malen. Fiorentina XI: De Gea; Joao Mario, Dragusin, Ranieri; Valdepenas; Ndour, Fagioli, Oulai; Atta, Kean, Gudmundsson.

Roma take on Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico at 20:45 in the opening fixture of the Serie A season. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has named a 22-man squad for the match, with all new signings included in the selection. The squad omits Lorenzo Pellegrini and Devyne Rensch. In goal, Gasperini has selected Mile Svilar, Giorgio De Marzi, and Pierluigi Gollini. The defence includes Konstantinos Koulierakis, Evan N'Dicka, Nahuel Molina, Mario Hermoso, Gianluca Mancini, Jan Ziółkowski, Wesley, Lulli, and Daniele Ghilardi. Midfield options are Bryan Cristante, Neil El Aynaoui, Manu Koné, Niccolò Pisilli, and Rodrigo Mora. Attacking players named are Santiago Castro, Donyell Malen, Matías Soulé, Paulo Dybala, and Robinio Vaz.

Roma have announced their squad for tonight's match against Fiorentina. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has called up 23 players across all positions. Defenders named are Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Ziolkowski, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi. The midfield contingent comprises Cristante, El Aynaoui, Koné, Pisilli and Mora, while the forward line includes Castro, Malen, Soulé, Dybala and Vaz.