Totti backs Roma's title ambitions as Gasperini era begins

Neil El Aynaoui has joined Leipzig on loan with a non-mandatory purchase option. The deal is structured as a paid loan worth €3 million, plus €1 million in bonuses, with a purchase right valued at €28 million plus further bonuses. Roma will also receive 20 per cent of any future sale price. The agreement contains no mandatory conditional obligations. El Aynaoui joined Roma from Lens in July 2025 on a five-year deal. His departure on loan represents a significant outgoing during the current transfer window and frees up squad space for Gasperini's side as they prepare for the 2026-27 season.

Roma completed their summer transfer window on 1 September with six new signings but fell short of head coach Gian Piero Gasperini's full requirements. The club added Leonardo Balerdi, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Nahuel Molina, Marten de Roon, Rodrigo Mora and Santiago Castro, while also securing permanent moves for Daniele Ghilardi and Donyell Malen and extending contracts for Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala. Despite these arrivals, Gasperini's requests for a left winger and left-back went unfulfilled. Last-minute attempts to bolster the squad fell through. A move for Juventus defender Juan Cabal collapsed when the Colombian declined to join, while forward targets Florian Leweling and Jeremy Gittens also failed to materialise. Singer Damiano David reportedly became unexpectedly involved in discussions over Leweling's potential arrival. On the outgoing side, Neil El Aynaoui and Robinio Vaz departed the club, while the future of Salah-Eddine remains to be decided. Manu Koné, whose status had been uncertain, stays at Roma.

Roma's transfer window closed on 1 September with Manu Koné remaining at the club after Chelsea made late contact. The midfielder, who had generated concern earlier in the day, will stay as one of the cornerstones of Gian Piero Gasperini's project. Chelsea's calls were rejected immediately, with no formal offer or advanced negotiations reaching Roma. Gasperini had made his position clear after the Lecce match, stating his determination to keep Koné at all costs, and that stance held firm through the closing hours. Two late departures were confirmed. Neil El Aynaoui joined RB Leipzig on a four-million-euro loan with a €25 million purchase option and a percentage on future resale. Mattia Mannini also left Trigoria, moving to Benevento on loan with a €1.5 million purchase option, with Roma retaining 30 per cent of any future sale. Robinio Vaz is heading to Hull City, though the move awaits official confirmation. Jamie Leweling and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens will not wear Roma colours; both pursuits in the final days proved impossible. Chelsea refused to negotiate a loan arrangement for Bynoe-Gittens, making a deal with Roma unfeasible, while the Leweling attempt failed to complete. Radio commentary offered scepticism about squad depth. Angelo Mangiante said of Fenerbahçe's stance on Oosterwolde: "Fenerbahçe was suggesting that Oosterwolde could play a match within two weeks. Roma wanted to get medical examinations done already." Alessandro Vocalelli added: "I don't trust Dybala's condition. I hope the Argentine holds up as long as possible."

Roma completed their summer transfer window on 1 September with six new signings but fell short of head coach Gian Piero Gasperini's full requirements. The club added Leonardo Balerdi, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Nahuel Molina, Marten de Roon, Rodrigo Mora and Santiago Castro, while also securing permanent moves for Daniele Ghilardi and Donyell Malen and extending contracts for Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala. Despite these arrivals, Gasperini's requests for a left winger and left-back went unfulfilled. Last-minute attempts to bolster the squad fell through. A move for Juventus defender Juan Cabal collapsed when the Colombian declined to join, while forward targets Florian Leweling and Jeremy Gittens also failed to materialise. Singer Damiano David reportedly became unexpectedly involved in discussions over Leweling's potential arrival. On the outgoing side, Neil El Aynaoui and Robinio Vaz departed the club, while the future of Salah-Eddine remains to be decided. Manu Koné, whose status had been uncertain, stays at Roma.

Roma's summer transfer window closed at 20:00 on 1 September after one of the longest and most active market periods in recent years. Sporting director Tony D'Amico oversaw a substantial squad rebuild across every department to meet the demands of head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. The club secured permanent deals for Donyell Malen and Daniele Ghilardi, and brought in Santiago Castro, Nahuel Molina, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Rodrigo Mora, Leonardo Balerdi and Marten de Roon. The signings added experience, physicality and talent to the squad, though the hunt for an attacking winger remained unresolved until the final hours. Roma's overhaul was equally significant in departures. Artem Dovbyk, Zeki Çelik, Angeliño, Neil El Aynaoui, Robinio Vaz, Matteo Baldanzi and Jan Ziółkowski left the club, alongside several young players and others outside Gasperini's plans. D'Amico remained active on business until the closing deadline, orchestrating a comprehensive transformation of the playing squad. The question now centres on whether Roma emerged strengthened from the window and whether Gasperini received a group capable of meeting his tactical requirements. The club invited supporters to vote in a survey assessing their satisfaction with the summer's work across incomings and outgoings combined.

Roma's summer transfer window has shut with a sense of missed opportunity, despite significant investment and a refusal by ownership to sell any key players. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has gone without the attacking winger he identified as his primary objective from the moment of his arrival—a player capable of operating from the left, beating opponents one-on-one, attacking space and destabilising defences. That position remains vacant after two transfer windows and an entire summer of pursuit, leaving the club's offensive department with an evident structural limitation. Despite clear improvement across the squad, the absence feels particularly acute because it was never a last-minute target or a late opportunity. Gasperini made the request for a left-sided winger his top technical priority. Financial constraints imposed by UEFA's settlement agreement complicated the sporting director Tony D'Amico's work, often forcing Roma to pursue unconventional formulas and abandon deals when demands proved unsustainable. Ownership did maintain the core: Mile Svilar, Evan N'Dicka, Wesley, Donyell Malen and other central project players remained. The squad's overall quality has grown—new players arrived, alternatives were added, and experience, physicality and talent were introduced. Rodrigo Mora, in particular, appears to be a shrewd acquisition: he possesses technique, imagination and the capacity to ignite a match with invention. Yet Mora is a trequartista, a creative force, not the external winger profile Gasperini sought. A true winger was needed—a player of pace and power, quick and capable of dribbling and attacking depth; someone to alternate with Mora rather than perform the same functions as the Portuguese midfielder. Roma faces a long season across the league, Champions League and Coppa Italia. Proceeding without that solution leaves Gasperini with a clear constraint in building the attacking unit. Uncertainty remains elsewhere too: Paulo Dybala transforms the team's level when fit, yet expecting him to complete an entire season without physical problems would be unrealistic. Lorenzo Pellegrini has returned as a first alternative in the left attack zone but is not a pure attacking winger and has endured complicated months from a physical standpoint. A player with completely different characteristics would have been not merely useful but necessary. The position of vice-Wesley—a left-back offering an alternative solution on that flank—also went unfilled. Roma gives the sensation of being very close to achieving a genuine quality leap. Early season displays have already hinted at this: the squad is stronger, more solid, more physical and possesses greater quality than before. The Friedkins invested, D'Amico changed much and Gasperini has a squad capable of competing at a high level. But when only the final puzzle piece seemed to be missing, that piece never arrived. The overall quality of the squad has grown and the market cannot be dismissed as negative; yet the most obvious shortfall cannot be hidden. The winger Gasperini awaited has not arrived. After an entire summer pursuing him, Roma closes the market with the unavoidable sense that this team could be even better.

Roma completed their summer transfer window on 1 September with six new signings but fell short of head coach Gian Piero Gasperini's full requirements. The club added Leonardo Balerdi, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Nahuel Molina, Marten de Roon, Rodrigo Mora and Santiago Castro, while also securing permanent moves for Daniele Ghilardi and Donyell Malen and extending contracts for Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala. Despite these arrivals, Gasperini's requests for a left winger and left-back went unfulfilled. Last-minute attempts to bolster the squad fell through. A move for Juventus defender Juan Cabal collapsed when the Colombian declined to join, while forward targets Florian Leweling and Jeremy Gittens also failed to materialise. Singer Damiano David reportedly became unexpectedly involved in discussions over Leweling's potential arrival. On the outgoing side, Neil El Aynaoui and Robinio Vaz departed the club, while the future of Salah-Eddine remains to be decided. Manu Koné, whose status had been uncertain, stays at Roma.

Roma's transfer window closed on 1 September with Manu Koné remaining at the club after Chelsea made late contact. The midfielder, who had generated concern earlier in the day, will stay as one of the cornerstones of Gian Piero Gasperini's project. Chelsea's calls were rejected immediately, with no formal offer or advanced negotiations reaching Roma. Gasperini had made his position clear after the Lecce match, stating his determination to keep Koné at all costs, and that stance held firm through the closing hours. Two late departures were confirmed. Neil El Aynaoui joined RB Leipzig on a four-million-euro loan with a €25 million purchase option and a percentage on future resale. Mattia Mannini also left Trigoria, moving to Benevento on loan with a €1.5 million purchase option, with Roma retaining 30 per cent of any future sale. Robinio Vaz is heading to Hull City, though the move awaits official confirmation. Jamie Leweling and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens will not wear Roma colours; both pursuits in the final days proved impossible. Chelsea refused to negotiate a loan arrangement for Bynoe-Gittens, making a deal with Roma unfeasible, while the Leweling attempt failed to complete. Radio commentary offered scepticism about squad depth. Angelo Mangiante said of Fenerbahçe's stance on Oosterwolde: "Fenerbahçe was suggesting that Oosterwolde could play a match within two weeks. Roma wanted to get medical examinations done already." Alessandro Vocalelli added: "I don't trust Dybala's condition. I hope the Argentine holds up as long as possible."

Roma's summer transfer window has shut with a sense of missed opportunity, despite significant investment and a refusal by ownership to sell any key players. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has gone without the attacking winger he identified as his primary objective from the moment of his arrival—a player capable of operating from the left, beating opponents one-on-one, attacking space and destabilising defences. That position remains vacant after two transfer windows and an entire summer of pursuit, leaving the club's offensive department with an evident structural limitation. Despite clear improvement across the squad, the absence feels particularly acute because it was never a last-minute target or a late opportunity. Gasperini made the request for a left-sided winger his top technical priority. Financial constraints imposed by UEFA's settlement agreement complicated the sporting director Tony D'Amico's work, often forcing Roma to pursue unconventional formulas and abandon deals when demands proved unsustainable. Ownership did maintain the core: Mile Svilar, Evan N'Dicka, Wesley, Donyell Malen and other central project players remained. The squad's overall quality has grown—new players arrived, alternatives were added, and experience, physicality and talent were introduced. Rodrigo Mora, in particular, appears to be a shrewd acquisition: he possesses technique, imagination and the capacity to ignite a match with invention. Yet Mora is a trequartista, a creative force, not the external winger profile Gasperini sought. A true winger was needed—a player of pace and power, quick and capable of dribbling and attacking depth; someone to alternate with Mora rather than perform the same functions as the Portuguese midfielder. Roma faces a long season across the league, Champions League and Coppa Italia. Proceeding without that solution leaves Gasperini with a clear constraint in building the attacking unit. Uncertainty remains elsewhere too: Paulo Dybala transforms the team's level when fit, yet expecting him to complete an entire season without physical problems would be unrealistic. Lorenzo Pellegrini has returned as a first alternative in the left attack zone but is not a pure attacking winger and has endured complicated months from a physical standpoint. A player with completely different characteristics would have been not merely useful but necessary. The position of vice-Wesley—a left-back offering an alternative solution on that flank—also went unfilled. Roma gives the sensation of being very close to achieving a genuine quality leap. Early season displays have already hinted at this: the squad is stronger, more solid, more physical and possesses greater quality than before. The Friedkins invested, D'Amico changed much and Gasperini has a squad capable of competing at a high level. But when only the final puzzle piece seemed to be missing, that piece never arrived. The overall quality of the squad has grown and the market cannot be dismissed as negative; yet the most obvious shortfall cannot be hidden. The winger Gasperini awaited has not arrived. After an entire summer pursuing him, Roma closes the market with the unavoidable sense that this team could be even better.