Venturino to leave Roma as club declines permanent deal

Leonardo Balerdi's loan deal from Marseille contains a complex purchase structure tied directly to his match appearances. If the Argentine defender plays in at least 55% of Roma's fixtures across all competitions for a minimum of 45 minutes, the buyout becomes mandatory at €14 million. Should his appearance rate fall between 40 and 55%, the obligation drops to €11 million. Marseille has secured a protection clause requiring Roma to pay a minimum €9 million if Balerdi accumulates just 20% of minutes played in the second half of the season. Balerdi will earn €1.5 million annually under the loan agreement—a significantly reduced figure relative to his market value—with a salary increase guaranteed if Roma exercise the permanent transfer option from next season onwards.

Inter have tracked several Roma players across multiple transfer windows, with some coming closer to a move than others. Mile Svilar was a target in summer 2025 before he renewed his contract with Roma, while contacts were made with Gianluca Mancini's representatives in early July when his deal was set to expire in 2027. Nahuel Molina was examined as a possible replacement for Dumfries, and in spring Inter president Marotta considered Lorenzo Pellegrini as an option. The most serious pursuit came in summer 2025 when director Ausilio agreed a deal with Roma's then sporting director Massara for Manu Koné on 15 August—reportedly worth 40 million euros plus bonuses—but Roma's ownership halted the transfer following supporter unrest. Paulo Dybala represents perhaps the most intriguing near-miss. In June 2022, fresh from leaving Juventus, his agent secured an agreement with Inter for a contract worth 6 million euros. The move collapsed when Inter owner Zhang hesitated, head coach Simone Inzaghi harboured doubts about the fit, and the club could not offload Alexis Correa elsewhere. Inter ultimately pivoted to bringing Romelu Lukaku back on loan instead. The article, published by Federico Masini in Tuttosport, frames these overlapping negotiations as a series of alternate paths in the transfer market. It traces how each of these Roma players—Svilar, Mancini, Pellegrini, Molina, Koné and Dybala—has at different times occupied Inter's thinking, whether as established targets or passing considerations.

Ahead of the big match between Roma and Inter, the transfer market reveals a thread connecting the two clubs over recent years: failed negotiations, hidden probes and shared targets that have intertwined their strategies from goalkeeper to attack. Inter considered Mile Svilar before his 2025 renewal, and came close to signing Mario Hermoso in 2024 before Oaktree's green-line policy on free transfers halted the move. The Nerazzurri also evaluated Evan N'Dicka and Gianluca Mancini, though the latter never wavered in his commitment to Roma despite Inter's interest. The clubs also conducted scouting missions for Nahuel Molina and Lorenzo Pellegrini on the flanks and in midfield. The biggest near-miss involved Manu Koné: in summer 2025, Inter reached an agreement worth 40 million euros, but Roma's ownership blocked the deal after a strong reaction from the supporters. The greatest regret for Inter remains Paulo Dybala, who came very close to joining the Nerazzurri in 2022. Zhang began to waver, Inzaghi was not entirely convinced, and Inter ultimately chose to pursue Lukaku's return on loan instead. That decision effectively cleared the path for Dybala's historic move to Roma.

Gasperini's tactical gamble paid off as Roma came from behind to beat Atalanta, with five substitutions made by the 21st minute of the second half transforming a match the club was losing 1–0 after Ederson's goal. With Ndicka and Mancini struggling against Atalanta's counter-attacks, Gasperini brought on Molina, Soulé, Castro, Ghilardi and Balerdi in rapid succession. The changes proved decisive: Ghilardi and Balerdi immediately steadied the defence and neutralised Atalanta's transitions, while Castro came close with efforts that hit the post and crossbar. Soulé delivered the most telling contribution, providing an assist and scoring a goal in the 93rd minute—an impact matching what he produced in Roma's match at Lecce. Gasperini had stated before the match: "Titolari and riserve ormai non contano più, si gioca in sedici"—effectively that first-team status and substitutes no longer matter, the game is played by sixteen—and the field immediately vindicated him. The depth demonstrated reflects substantial improvement from the previous season. In a match such as Parma last May, the bench contained only Venturino and Vaz; Gasperini now has access to a squad rich with genuine alternatives capable of reshaping a match. The quality of those replacements gives him the tactical weapons to win even when games turn against Roma mid-contest.

Neil El Aynaoui is poised to leave Roma after just one season, with Crystal Palace having tabled an opening offer structured as a loan with a right of purchase that would convert to an obligation under certain conditions. Roma value the midfielder at €30–35 million and are seeking either a permanent sale or a guaranteed obligation to buy, neither of which Crystal Palace's initial proposal meets. Bayer Leverkusen has also shown interest, while Saudi Arabian clubs registered prior enquiries. El Aynaoui's potential departure would mark the near-complete dismantling of the squad built last summer by director of football Frédéric Massara under the supervision of head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. Bought from Lens a year ago for €23 million plus €2 million in bonuses, El Aynaoui was among Massara's primary investments in summer 2025 and arrived following protracted negotiations for Richard Rios, whom Gasperini had identified as a target midfielder. Yet twelve months on, he has failed to establish himself as a central figure in Roma's project. Of the eight main signings Massara made that summer—El Aynaoui, Wesley, Ghilardi, Evan Ferguson, Bailey, Jan Ziółkowski, Vasquez and Zelezny, plus further arrivals during the season including Robinio Vaz and Donyell Malen in January—almost none remain integrated into the first-team plan. Bailey departed in January; Ferguson and Kostas Tsimikas have returned to their parent clubs; Zaragoza, Venturino and Zelezny have left; Ziółkowski is bound for Monza; and Robinio Vaz is joining Hull City on a paid loan with a purchase option. Only Wesley and Malen have endured as meaningful squad members—notably, both were explicitly endorsed by Gasperini himself. The wholesale reversal reflects a fundamental disconnect between Massara's construction and Gasperini's tactical requirements. The head coach arrived with precise ideas about player profiles: intensity, one-on-one strength, athletic capability, aggression, willingness to defend in open play, and specific positional characteristics. Much of Massara's market activity, the article suggests, proceeded on different criteria. El Aynaoui, aged 25 with international appeal and genuine quality—hardly a failed signing on financial grounds—has attracted bids from Champions League and Bundesliga clubs yet appears expendable to Roma's current thinking. A sale at €30–35 million would recoup the initial investment while generating profit useful for UEFA financial compliance, and would free capital to invest in a midfielder Roma believes better suited to Gasperini's system alongside an attacking winger the head coach has requested for weeks. Roma has already absorbed a year of transfer misalignment and is now attempting correction. Should El Aynaoui depart, Wesley and Malen will stand as the last substantial survivors of Massara's legacy—both players explicitly favoured by Gasperini. The club cannot afford further directional error; Tony D'Amico must construct a roster that is recognisable, coherent and durable, avoiding a return to similar discussions in August 2027 regarding the summer 2026 window.

Roma's final weeks of the summer transfer window will see not only the completion of Gian Piero Gasperini's squad but also a profound transformation of the group built in previous sessions—a wholesale dismantling of the roster assembled under former sporting director Florent Ghisolfi and Ricky Massara. Defender Jan Ziółkowski is poised to leave. The Polish centre-back has opened talks over a move to Monza, who are ready to pay approximately €1.2 million for a paid loan. Details of the buyout clause remain to be finalised, though one proposal links the cost of the loan to Ziółkowski's appearances—the more he plays, the lower the fee for Monza. Roma will not greenlight his departure until a replacement arrives. The primary target is Morato, a Brazilian centre-back at Nottingham Forest, with negotiations centred on a loan formula, though no agreement has yet been reached between the clubs. Thilo Kehrer of Monaco has also been evaluated as an alternative, as has Nayef Aguerd, the 1996-born Moroccan defender at Marseille, in a potential loan deal. More delicate is the situation of Neil El Aynaoui. The Moroccan midfielder has failed to build the tactical understanding with Gasperini required to become a cornerstone of the project, and Roma are ready to let him go after just one season if the right offer arrives. However, proposals from Germany so far have been structured only as loans with buyout clauses, while Trigoria prefers an outright sale. El Aynaoui's departure would force Roma to return to the market. Gasperini had identified Franck Kessié as his target, but the Ivorian is now close to joining Juventus, leaving Roma to find an alternative quickly. Ziółkowski and El Aynaoui could join a lengthy list of players who arrived under Ghisolfi and Massara but have since exited the project: Bailey, Ferguson, Tsimikas, Venturino and Zaragoza are cited, while Robinio Vaz is close to Hull City, with an agreement between the clubs pending the player's approval. The transformation reflects Gasperini's tactical preferences and the new sporting direction's priorities.