Roma transfer window live: pursuit of Leweling, Soulé exit looms, Balerdi arrival imminent

Roma have accelerated their pursuit of Zenit Saint Petersburg winger Luiz Henrique as the transfer window enters its final hours. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini is targeting the Brazilian to complete his attacking options. The club are negotiating with the Russian side on the basis of a €5 million loan fee with a purchase option set at €30 million, according to Gianluca Di Marzio. Roma are pushing to reach a final agreement in the coming days. Other potential targets have lost momentum. Chelsea have not granted the openness Roma hoped for regarding their proposed formula for Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, while the path to Jamie Leweling has also become complicated—there is currently no agreement with Stuttgart, and contract terms with the player himself remain unsettled. Luiz Henrique has emerged as the leading candidate to fill the final attacking spot, with the next few hours expected to be decisive in determining whether negotiations with Zenit can reach a successful conclusion.

Roma are intensifying efforts to sign Luiz Henrique from Zenit as head coach Gian Piero Gasperini presses for an attacking reinforcement in the final days of the transfer window. The club is working to secure the Brazilian on a loan deal worth €5 million plus a €30 million purchase option, a structure that would effectively bring him in now while deferring the larger outlay to the next season. The acceleration towards Luiz Henrique reflects the difficulty Roma face pursuing other targets. Chelsea have not opened the door to a loan move for Gittens, cooling that prospect, while Leweling has become equally distant — Stuttgart have reached no agreement with the player's representatives on contract terms. Gasperini has stressed the necessity of closing the market with an attacking wide option, and Luiz Henrique now represents Roma's primary path to that objective in the current window.

Matthijs de Roon has joined AS Roma, arriving at the club with established familiarity with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. The Dutch midfielder brings considerable tactical knowledge and experience from working under Gasperini, offering both leadership and on-pitch quality to strengthen Roma's midfield options. De Roon's arrival represents a swift move in the transfer market and provides Gasperini with a trusted lieutenant who understands his methods and demands. The midfielder's background working with the Roma boss suggests immediate integration into the team's systems and culture.

Robinio Vaz's move to Hull City has stalled after head coach Gian Piero Gasperini halted the transfer, according to reports. The French forward had come close to joining the newly promoted Premier League club on a loan with a purchase option, and the agreement between Roma and Hull City was complete. However, Gasperini has blocked the departure pending the arrival of a new attacking left winger. Today, 30 August, a call is scheduled between Vaz and Hull City to obtain the final answer from the 2007-born forward. The agreement between the two clubs is not the issue; Roma is awaiting Vaz's definitive approval to proceed with the move.

Marten de Roon has completed his move to Roma from Atalanta and will arrive at Fiumicino airport today at 12:10. The midfielder is the club's sixth signing of the summer window in a deal worth €1 million in total. His arrival is accompanied by the departure of Neil El Aynaoui, who joins Leipzig on a loan deal with a right of purchase valued at €29–30 million in total. Leonardo Balerdi, the Argentine defender, has been officially announced as a Roma player after landing at Ciampino yesterday afternoon. He has signed a contract to 2031 and chosen the number 26 shirt. Balerdi is Roma's fifth signing of the summer. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini signalled in a press conference that he expects at least one more attacker before the window closes on 1 September at 20:00, and ideally a left-back as well. Roma are pursuing Luiz Henrique as their primary attacking target, with Jérémie Gittens and Florian Leweling having cooled as options. Stuttgart rejected Roma's opening offer for Leweling: a €5 million loan fee with a conditional obligation to buy set at €35 million. Matías Soulé remains a departure risk, with Sunderland, Fulham and Newcastle all reportedly in contact with the winger's representatives; Gasperini stated "No offers" when asked about Soulé. On Gittens, Fabrizio Romano reported that "At night between Saturday and Sunday, Chelsea do not free Gittens on loan, but then anything can happen." Robinio Vaz's loan move to Hull City hangs in balance. According to reports, a call between the forward and the English club is scheduled for today to confirm final approval, though Gasperini has reportedly blocked the departure pending the arrival of a new attacking winger. The transfer window closes at 20:00 on 1 September.

Leonardo Balerdi landed at Ciampino on 29 August and became Roma's fifth summer signing and fifth Argentine in the squad—part of a three-strong Argentine contingent alongside Santiago Castro and Nahuel Molina who have all arrived this summer. The centre-back will undergo medical tests today before being announced, completing a significantly reinforced defence. Sporting director D'Amico is pressing ahead with negotiations on multiple fronts to strengthen the squad further within 72 hours, with Roma facing Lecce tomorrow. The priority remains an attacking winger. Chelsea's Gittens is the preferred target, with Roma applying pressure to secure a loan move from the English club. Simultaneously, negotiations with Zenit have opened for Luiz Henrique, a left-footed Brazilian winger who plays predominantly on the right. The departures being considered include Robinio Vaz, who will likely move to Hull City once the attacking reinforcement is completed, along with Neil El Aynaoui and Matías Soulé, who have attracted interest—chiefly from the Premier League—though no concrete bids have yet arrived. A Soulé exit could open the door for a left-winger addition. The midfield wing options are expected to remain unchanged.

Roma and Marseille have reached agreement on Leonardo Balerdi, with the Argentine defender landing in the Italian capital on 29 August. The deal was concluded within hours, with Balerdi touching down at 17:30 local time to a welcome from supporters eager for early selfies. He will undergo medical tests and sign his contract. The transfer is structured as a loan worth €1 million with a right of riscatto that becomes an obligation of approximately €15 million subject to conditions tied to appearances and European qualification. Balerdi replaces Jan Ziółkowski, who is departing to Monza. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini had requested an experienced defender rather than a young prospect to develop. The signing completes Roma's defensive options alongside Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka, Mario Hermoso, Daniele Ghilardi and Konstantinos Koulierakis. Roma aim to have him available for Monday's match against Lecce.

Leonardo Balerdi arrived at Ciampino airport on the evening of 29 August after AS Roma and Marseille completed a transfer agreement. The Argentine defender was greeted by Roma supporters at the airport and stopped to take selfies with fans before undergoing the final stages of his move. Roma have signed Balerdi on a loan deal worth approximately 1 million euros, with a right of rescission that becomes mandatory upon the occurrence of certain conditions tied to appearances. The transfer fee for a permanent move sits around 15–18 million euros should Roma exercise the option. The deal was brokered as Jan Ziółkowski departed for Monza, with manager Gian Piero Gasperini adding a more experienced central defender to strengthen the squad. Balerdi will now undergo medical examinations, and once cleared, will sign his contract with the club. Sky Sport journalist Gianluca Di Marzio and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported that negotiations between Roma and Marseille had reached their final stages, with both clubs working through the final documentation and contractual details. The move represents Roma's solution at centre-back following Ziółkowski's exit, with the club having pursued a more experienced option for Gasperini's defence. The structure of the agreement — a loan with conditional obligation — reflects typical loan-to-buy arrangements common in modern transfer dealings. Barring unforeseen complications in his medical examination, Balerdi will become available for Roma's squad selection once the paperwork is finalised and he signs his contract.

Neil El Aynaoui is in concrete danger of leaving Roma, with Crystal Palace having made an official opening bid structured as a loan with a right of purchase that could become mandatory on certain conditions. The offer does not satisfy Roma's valuation of €30–35 million, which demands either an outright sale or a guaranteed obligation to buy. Bayer Leverkusen has also registered interest, while Saudi Arabian clubs approached the player in recent days. The significance of a potential departure extends far beyond a single transaction: it would mark the near-complete dismantling of the squad assembled by sporting director Frederic Massara just one year ago. El Aynaoui was signed from Lens for €23 million plus €2 million in add-ons in summer 2025, representing one of Massara's principal investments alongside a lengthy pursuit of midfielder Richard Rios, who had been identified by coach Gian Piero Gasperini. Within twelve months the landscape has shifted entirely. El Aynaoui has not become a central figure in Gasperini's Roma, and a sale in the €30–35 million range would recover the original investment and generate a profit useful for UEFA financial compliance. Yet the sale would crystallise a broader pattern: the systematic removal of Massara's summer 2025 recruits—Wesley, Daniele Ghilardi, Evan Ferguson, Bailey, Jan Ziółkowski, and others—in favour of a squad more precisely aligned with Gasperini's demands. Of that original cohort, only Wesley and Donyell Malen (signed in January 2026) remain unchallenged, both having received Gasperini's direct endorsement. Bailey departed in January; Ferguson and Kostas Tsimikas returned to their parent clubs; Zaragoza, Venturino, and Zelezny have left; Ziółkowski is bound for Monza; Robinio Vaz has reached an agreement with Hull City on a paid loan with a right of purchase. The article frames the matter as a fundamental mismatch between Gasperini's precise tactical requirements—intensity, one-on-one strength, athleticism, aggression, defensive commitment in open play, and position-specific qualities—and Massara's recruitment trajectory. El Aynaoui, at 25 years old and in his prime with genuine international market interest from Crystal Palace and Bayer Leverkusen, is scarcely a failed signing; a €35 million sale on a €25 million net spend is not a financial disaster. Yet the underlying tension is unavoidable: when a coach considers almost all his sporting director's signings from one year expendable within the next twelve months, something fundamental in the original construction has failed. A sale of El Aynaoui would convert a principal investment from the previous summer into capital to reinvest in a midfield and attacking flank now sought by Gasperini. The article poses a critical question as Roma seek to correct course: how much would it have cost to build a coherent squad aligned with Gasperini from the outset, rather than spending a year acquiring, waiting, selling, and repurchasing? Sporting director Tony D'Amico must construct a roster that is recognisable, coherent, and durable, because Roma has already consumed a year absorbing marketplace misalignment. Should El Aynaoui depart, Wesley and Malen will stand as the principal survivors—both chosen with Gasperini's strong approval.