Serie A hails Svilar's brilliant saves as Roma return to Champions League

Donyell Malen has set his sights on a repeat of Roma's impressive 2025–26 campaign, speaking from the club's preseason base in Cardiff. The Dutch forward scored 15 goals in 20 appearances in his first six months at Roma and is determined to maintain that trajectory in the 2026–27 season. Malen reflected on last season's primary achievement: the Champions League qualification that ended a long drought for the club. "Always nice for a striker to score many goals and help the team win," he said. "In the end, the big success of last year wasn't my scoring record, but the Champions League place we secured. Roma hadn't played in it for so many years. It would be a dream to replicate what we achieved last year." When asked about winning the Serie A Golden Boot, Malen stressed that individual accolades are secondary to overall performance. "Dream of becoming top scorer? The important thing is to play at a high level. It's not just about goals, but creating plenty of chances and providing assists. I know my qualities in finishing, and if I improve week after week, who knows where I can get to," he said.

Real Madrid teenager Franco Mastantuono is set to continue his career in Serie A on a season-long loan, with manager Jose Mourinho open to allowing the Argentine to leave after a difficult first year at the Santiago Bernabeu. Mastantuono joined Madrid from River Plate last summer for a reported fee of €45 million, but managed only 11 La Liga starts in 2025–26, accumulating 35 appearances across all competitions with three goals and one assist. Roma, Milan, and Fiorentina have all registered interest in the 18-year-old. Milan, who competed with Roma and other top European clubs to sign Mastantuono before his move to Spain, view him as a potential successor to Rafael Leao at San Siro. Roma's interest is partly explained by the possibility that Matías Soulé could leave the Stadio Olimpico this summer. Fiorentina are also keen to provide the young talent with a pathway to regular first-team football. Mastantuono's struggles in his debut season have made a departure seem inevitable, with all three Italian clubs positioning themselves to offer him the consistent playing time needed to accelerate his development.

With less than a month until the new Serie A season begins, roughly 100 players across the Italian top division remain sidelined from their clubs' plans, weighing heavily on balance sheets rather than contributing on the pitch. Napoli, Juventus and Inter face the most complex situations. Inter must manage Frattesi's declining market value as he seeks regular starting football without success, alongside problems with Asllani and Pavard. Napoli's squad is oversized and needs significant departures; Lukaku's substantial wage at 33 remains an obstacle, as does Lucca. Juventus carries aging contracts and new signings outside their plans, including Arthur, Openda, Douglas Luiz and Nico Gonzalez, who is reportedly unwilling to return to Turin and is also being tracked by Roma. Roma is working to move several players out. Artem Dovbyk's situation appeared complicated due to injury and a high valuation, but the club has found a potential solution in recent days: following Castro's arrival, the Ukrainian could leave on loan to Bologna, pending only his approval. Kumbulla's future also remains to be resolved. Milan faces more contained issues but still needs to find homes for Musah and Loftus-Cheek, while Rafael Leao's future hangs in the balance. Across the rest of Serie A, Atalanta, Bologna and Fiorentina face lighter departures, while Sassuolo and Lazio are among clubs needing to trim their squads before the transfer window closes.

Roma face Newport County in their second pre-season friendly in Wales on 4 August at 20:00 at the Rodney Parade. The match follows an earlier fixture against Cardiff City during the summer preparation period under head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. Gasperini is expected to deploy a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Mile Svilar in goal; Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Koulierakis across the back; Devyne Rensch and Wesley as wing-backs; Neil El Aynaoui and Bryan Cristante in midfield; Paulo Dybala and Matías Soulé in the attacking midfield line; and Donyell Malen leading the attack. Tickets are available through Newport County's official website. The friendly will be broadcast live on DAZN, with live text coverage available on ilromanista.eu.

Roma players Mile Svilar, Gianluca Mancini, Devyne Rensch and new signing Koulierakis spent time with supporters in Wales following the squad's first training session of the day on 3 August. The interaction with fans came during Roma's pre-season preparations, with the group engaging in the customary meet-and-greet activities that characterise the build-up to a new campaign. The presence of Koulierakis, who joined as a new acquisition ahead of the 2026–27 season, marked another step in Roma's summer transfer activity as the squad continues its conditioning work away from the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma suffered a heavy defeat to Cardiff City in their opening pre-season fixture, losing 4–1 at the Welsh Championship club on 2 August. The Giallorossi conceded three goals in the opening half-hour and went in at 0–3 at the break, with errors from established players including Svilar, N'Dicka, Hermoso, Wesley, Cristante and Dybala contributing to a chaotic first period. Paulo Dybala missed a penalty in spectacular fashion before atoning in the second half with a goal created by Matías Soulé, though Cardiff added a fourth after an apparent foul on debutant Castro went unpunished. The match served as the competitive debut for Castro, who operated as the striker in an all-Argentine attacking triad alongside Dybala and Soulé under coach Gian Piero Gasperini's tactical system. Roma fielded a reduced squad following two weeks of pre-season work, while Cardiff were significantly further along in their preparation ahead of their League Cup campaign starting within days. Officiating decisions favoured the hosts, with romanisti receiving a series of yellow cards distributed seemingly arbitrarily. Wesley and Rensch appeared vulnerable on the flanks, while the centre-backs and midfield operated out of sync. A notable injury concern emerged when Bah suffered a right knee distortion and had to be stretchered off. The second half saw gradual improvements, though Cardiff's quality ensured few clear chances materialised for the visitors. Young midfielder Lulli (born 2007) impressed in a brief appearance.