Totti backs Roma and Inter as Serie A title contenders

A column revisits the players Roma linked with last summer and how they have fared since, with the author noting that a winger Gasperini wanted is expected to arrive in January. The piece argues that some of those former targets are now tied down to new contracts and out of reach, making a return unlikely. Jamie Leweling was the most recent name to be discussed before he reportedly pulled back at the end of August, after a couple of weeks of uncertainty that affected his start to the season at Stuttgart, currently fourteenth. He has made only 2 starts in 6 Bundesliga matches, but has regained the trust of Sebastian Hoeness after the international break. In the Champions League he has started 2 of 3 games and scored in the last round at Atlético Madrid. His performances hover around the level of acceptable. Crysencio Summerville chose the Saudi route on 21 July, leaving Roma to sign for 17.3 million euros a season including bonuses. He had been one of Gasperini's favourites. He has 3 goals and 3 assists for Al Hilal in the Saudi league, and was sent off in his only appearance in the Champions League Elite. The author argues Middle Eastern football is not a good yardstick for judging players who choose money over the centre of the sporting world. Endrick has had a limited start to 2026-27. He came on in the last half hour against Roma for Real Madrid under Mourinho and started once, last weekend against Sevilla, before returning to the bench midweek in the Champions League. In total he has played 75 minutes in the league across 2 appearances and 35 minutes in Europe across 2 appearances. Mason Greenwood, rehabilitated at Marseille, has joined Fenerbahçe on a deal worth 11.5 million euros net, including bonuses. He has 4 goals and 2 assists in 8 Süper Lig games, and in the Champions League he scored 1 goal against Slavia Prague and set up 1 against Roma. The author says his quality is not in question, but his choice is. Malik Fofana, whose price was 35 million euros with wages of 3.5 million euros a season including bonuses, has yet to start for Sunderland and has no goals or assists in 120 minutes. The author judges the praise that surrounded him when Roma enquired to have been unjustified. Antonio Nusa is a regular starter at Leipzig, with 9 appearances of 80 minutes each, 6 of 6 in the Bundesliga with 3 goals and 3 assists, and 3 of 3 in the Champions League. The author finds it surprising that English and Spanish clubs have not invested, given the reported 55-60 million euro asking price, while noting he has been inconsistent, with 5 appearances of 12 minutes each. Alejandro Garnacho is struggling to regain form. Emery has described the physical gap with his teammates as still too wide. He has played 35 minutes in 3 Premier League matches and 33 minutes in 2 Champions League games. Gabriel Martinelli was offered to both Roma and Napoli in July and August at around 7 million euros a season plus bonuses. Both clubs considered him without committing. Al Hilal then offered 23 million euros a year. He has 5 goals in 5 league matches and 2 appearances in the Champions League Elite, and the author has no regrets about the figures involved.

Former Roma striker Ciccio Graziani has said Donyell Malen would be his choice over Højlund, speaking to Romanews.eu on the eve of Napoli-Roma at the Maradona. Asked which of the two he would sign as a sporting director, Graziani said: "Malen without thinking twice. Hojlund I like a lot, and sometimes he seems to me like a 'little Lukaku' the way he runs the attack and the hold-up play he takes, and he also has a great sense of goal; but Malen is my ideal striker, for the way he attacks space, his dribbling, the acceleration he has in the last twenty metres, and because he can roam across the whole front line." The match carries weight for both sides. Graziani noted that a win would mean a fresh start for Napoli after their Champions League success, while for Roma it would mean continuing to push for the top. He said Napoli's recent form had been shaky, pointing to a defeat at Venice that had left them on the brink, before they managed a tricky cup game against Bodø Glimt. He added that this showed the team wanted to bounce back and that its senior players had not given up on Allegri. On Roma, Graziani said: "Both sides risk something, as every time teams of this level meet. Roma are strong thanks to their team identity, which goes beyond the names Gasperini can pick." Asked whether injuries had left Gasperini's squad stretched, Graziani said: "I'm very sorry for Pellegrini, it seemed the injury was less serious. That said, Cristante's return is fundamental, while we wait for Dybala too, then Svilar and Koné in chronological order. Back to the word I used before: identity. Roma have it, and that makes them dangerous even with the forced rotations the coach has to resort to." Graziani also compared the two coaches. He said: "Allegri has a trophy cabinet that speaks for him and a past at the highest level, between scudetti and Champions League finals. Gasperini is someone who shapes teams around his principles of play, and when you have to face him you must be careful both with the collective identity and with the form of each individual, because with him players improve, as we have seen for years. Allegri we could call a 'manager of minds', since he has often governed dressing rooms full of great players; Gasperini instead produces ideas, which the players then turn into performances. It is a clash between two coaches whom the facts speak for."

Former Roma winger Max Tonetto has said a Roma centenary without Francesco Totti, Bruno Conti and Daniele De Rossi would not be a true centenary, as the club's 100th anniversary approaches in 2027. Speaking to Roberta Pedrelli on RadioBruno, Tonetto backed a possible return for Totti in a club role. "I hope so, a centenary without players like Totti, Bruno Conti and De Rossi is not a centenary of Roma. The history of Roma is those three. They were absolute legends, and seeing Francesco in the stands gives me hope for his return." The interview also touched on the recent exchange between Totti and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, with Pedrelli recalling the invitation to organise a new dinner. Pedrelli then asked whether the club should keep the number 10 shirt unassigned or give it to a player such as Paulo Dybala. Tonetto said: "I don't consider it such an important issue. Whatever decision is taken will not erase what Totti has done for Roma, but keeping it available would be a dream for a future Roman and Roma fan who longs to wear such an important shirt." The conversation then turned to Niccolò Pisilli, who wore the captain's armband on Tuesday in the Champions League match against Slovan Bratislava. The moment carried strong symbolism for a player who came through Roma's youth sector. Asked about the emotion of that occasion, Tonetto said: "I am a romantic, I love these things, and seeing scenes like these is still the essence of football." Finally, responding to a question from Verdenelli, Tonetto reflected on his own time at Roma, during which he won three trophies without lifting the Scudetto. "Those three trophies are a fine haul, but there were also three second-place finishes. In one of them Inter were truly much stronger, while in the other two we fought until the very end. To win, you have to keep fighting until the end, and in those years, despite a short squad, we achieved a lot. If you fight every year, sooner or later the victory comes."