Wesley sidelined as Roma's Welsh preseason continues

Konstantinos Koulierakis has joined AS Roma and arrived in Wales on 2 August to link up with the squad after completing his move from Wolfsburg. The 22-year-old Greek defender made his first remarks as a Roma player in an interview with the club's YouTube channel, saying: "When my agent told me Roma was interested in me, I told him: 'Ok, let's go and do our best to become part of this great Club'." He added: "I was welcomed very well and I'm happy to be here. I had no doubt at all: my only thought was to come and sign." Koulierakis was warmly greeted by his new teammates and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. The defender, born in 2003, acknowledged he has room for improvement but highlighted his strengths: "I'm young, I still need to improve in many aspects, but I will continue to do so. My strengths? My left foot, but also my mental strength: I never stop, I always give my best to try to win." He named Sergio Ramos as a childhood idol and drew comparisons with Aymeric Laporte, noting shared characteristics and their mutual left-footedness. Koulierakis revealed he had been in touch with Kostas Manolas during the summer, another Greek who played for Roma: "We spoke this summer and we also talked about Roma among other things. I had told him it would have been a great step for me to come here, but it was just a chat, now I've signed!" He expressed his excitement about the Olimpico atmosphere and Roma's supporters: "From what I've seen on TV, the atmosphere is incredible. I know how great Roma fans are, so I can't wait to play in front of them." Wolfsburg bade him farewell on social media with a message in Italian to Roma and the fans: "Treat him well. He will give you everything."

Santiago Castro is now officially a Roma player, and head coach Gasperini has acquired his new centre-forward option alongside Donyell Malen. The Argentine, nicknamed 'El Torito' for his resemblance to Lautaro Martínez and citing Batistuta, Tevez and Milito as idols, did not begin his career as a lead striker. At Vélez Sarsfield, Castro played right-back before Daniel Cielinski, a coach working with him at youth level, asked whether he would consider moving forward. Cielinski, now working between Atletio Perù's youth academy and Los Andes' women's team in Buenos Aires, recalled Castro in 2014 as a 10-year-old boy with exceptional energy and intensity. "When you ask a child 'where do you like to play?', most say 'striker', but Santiago gave a different answer: he simply wanted to play," Cielinski said. "He had the desire to start the action, to always be the one initiating play. That indicated he could become an attacker." Castro initially struggled in the role, failing to score in his first ten matches, but Cielinski persisted with the position. "After the tenth match I think he scored two goals. From there everything started: he stayed in that role and naturally loved it. He never stopped." Cielinski identified Castro's standout quality as power and bravery with both feet, noting he always sought the ball and moved continuously. "I see him in the penalty area, inside the box, in the space around the penalty arc," Cielinski said of his ideal position. He praised Castro's family, particularly his father's respectful non-interference in the coaching process throughout his son's development.

Gian Piero Gasperini has clarified Roma's attacking strategy, stating that Santiago Castro and Donyell Malen will alternate as the club's central striker throughout the season rather than feature together regularly. Both are pure strikers, and the manager will deploy only one at a time in Roma's established 4-2-3-1 formation, with two playmakers operating behind the lone forward. A rare pairing will be reserved for emergencies or closing stages of matches when chasing a result. This approach was already visible in a friendly against Cardiff City, where Castro started and Malen appeared from the bench. Roma's €35 million investment plus bonuses in Argentine forward Castro stems from the need to manage player workload across a demanding season featuring European competition. Last season, Malen featured heavily in the second half of the campaign and risked arriving fatigued. Castro's quality and prospect as a young talent provide Gasperini with greater depth without compromising standards. The two attackers possess complementary but distinct characteristics: Malen thrives on attacking space and exploiting pace, while Castro prefers dropping deep to link play and create connection with teammates. This stylistic difference makes regular partnership difficult, echoing a similar arrangement Gasperini employed at Atalanta with Zapata and Muriel.

Koulierakis trained with Roma for the first time on 2 August after arriving at Vale Resort, declaring himself eager to contribute to the club. "I am truly very happy to be here. The welcome has been fantastic," the Greek defender said. "When my agent told me Roma was interested, I responded immediately: 'Yes, let's go'. I want to do my best to become part of this great Italian club. I had no doubt whatsoever." Wesley suffered a right ankle sprain on Saturday during Perry Ng's penalty-kick incident and attempted to train but signalled to Gasperini he was unable to continue. No alarm is warranted, though he is expected to sit out Tuesday's match against Newport to avoid reinjury. Pisilli remains sidelined with a calf problem sustained ten days earlier. El Aynaoui has a minor left knee discomfort but nothing troubling. Bah will undergo an MRI scan on 3 August to assess the extent of his right knee injury. In the transfer market, Roma continues to push for Read. The Dutch winger played the full 90 minutes in a friendly against Atalanta on 2 August but remains committed to joining Roma. His club has rejected an opening bid of €23 million plus €2 million in bonuses, demanding €30 million instead. 3 August could prove decisive in reaching agreement. Roma is also pursuing Cacciamani at Torino and exploring attacking options—Nusa is preferred but his cost complicates matters, while Endrick is also under consideration. Koné has drawn interest from Manchester United, though Arsenal has dropped out of the race. Kumbulla is heading to Rayo Vallecano.

Neil El Aynaoui withdrew from a Roma training session in Wales on 2 August to undertake an extended run around the resort, but stopped when he felt knee discomfort. Gasperini's staff asked whether he wished to halt, after which he resumed running. El Aynaoui returned from holiday on Friday and has joined Roma's pre-season preparations in Wales. The brief interruption reflects the squad's ongoing work in their mid-summer training camp as the 2026–27 season approaches.

Roma continued their pre-season preparation in Cardiff on 2 August with a training session that was disrupted by fresh injury concerns. Koulierakis arrived at the camp after completing his medical and paperwork in Rome, and took part in the open session alongside new CEO John Galantic and about fifteen travelling supporters. However, Wesley was forced to abandon the session after just minutes when an ankle sprain sustained in the previous day's friendly against Cardiff proved too painful to continue; he left the field visibly limping with significant strapping on his right leg. Jan Ziółkowski briefly caused alarm with a knock to his ankle during the session but recovered to continue without issue. Gasperini's squad is preparing for a Tuesday match against Newport while managing workload rotation through the summer window. Niccolò Pisilli remains unavailable despite being in the group, while defender Bah is awaiting an MRI scan scheduled for 3 August after sustaining a knee sprain in training on 1 August. Neil El Aynaoui, recently returned to training following World Cup duty, completed an extended fitness session around the resort and briefly paused for a minor left-knee discomfort before resuming his run.

Koulierakis trained with Roma for the first time on 2 August after arriving at Vale Resort, declaring himself eager to contribute to the club. "I am truly very happy to be here. The welcome has been fantastic," the Greek defender said. "When my agent told me Roma was interested, I responded immediately: 'Yes, let's go'. I want to do my best to become part of this great Italian club. I had no doubt whatsoever." Wesley suffered a right ankle sprain on Saturday during Perry Ng's penalty-kick incident and attempted to train but signalled to Gasperini he was unable to continue. No alarm is warranted, though he is expected to sit out Tuesday's match against Newport to avoid reinjury. Pisilli remains sidelined with a calf problem sustained ten days earlier. El Aynaoui has a minor left knee discomfort but nothing troubling. Bah will undergo an MRI scan on 3 August to assess the extent of his right knee injury. In the transfer market, Roma continues to push for Read. The Dutch winger played the full 90 minutes in a friendly against Atalanta on 2 August but remains committed to joining Roma. His club has rejected an opening bid of €23 million plus €2 million in bonuses, demanding €30 million instead. 3 August could prove decisive in reaching agreement. Roma is also pursuing Cacciamani at Torino and exploring attacking options—Nusa is preferred but his cost complicates matters, while Endrick is also under consideration. Koné has drawn interest from Manchester United, though Arsenal has dropped out of the race. Kumbulla is heading to Rayo Vallecano.

Roma continued their pre-season preparation in Cardiff on 2 August with a training session that was disrupted by fresh injury concerns. Koulierakis arrived at the camp after completing his medical and paperwork in Rome, and took part in the open session alongside new CEO John Galantic and about fifteen travelling supporters. However, Wesley was forced to abandon the session after just minutes when an ankle sprain sustained in the previous day's friendly against Cardiff proved too painful to continue; he left the field visibly limping with significant strapping on his right leg. Jan Ziółkowski briefly caused alarm with a knock to his ankle during the session but recovered to continue without issue. Gasperini's squad is preparing for a Tuesday match against Newport while managing workload rotation through the summer window. Niccolò Pisilli remains unavailable despite being in the group, while defender Bah is awaiting an MRI scan scheduled for 3 August after sustaining a knee sprain in training on 1 August. Neil El Aynaoui, recently returned to training following World Cup duty, completed an extended fitness session around the resort and briefly paused for a minor left-knee discomfort before resuming his run.

Borussia Dortmund will face Roma in a friendly on 15 August as part of their pre-season preparations. Ahead of the fixture, defender Luca Reggiani, speaking after Dortmund's training match against FC Tokyo, expressed his excitement about the encounter. "Facing Roma is a unique emotion, I hope I can play. I will give my best," Reggiani said. The 2008-born defender also offered high praise for Roma midfielder Niccolò Pisilli. "Niccolò is a very good and very strong lad, really impressive," Reggiani told interviewer Norikazu Sato. The friendly marks an important pre-season test for both clubs as they prepare for the new season.