Zidane deploys Koné as deep playmaker and Gasperini takes notes

Santiago Castro has won the 'goal of the month' award for October with his strike against Genoa, a single but spectacular effort. The Argentine broke his duck against the Rossoblu with a delicate touch under the ball inside the penalty area, beating Riccardo Orsolini, who had scored against Lecce with an overhead kick. Despite limited playing time, Castro has been called up to Argentina by Scaloni and will be available for the friendlies against Uruguay and Costa Rica. He has started only two matches in the giallorossi shirt, but his opportunities should come after the November international break, with seven fixtures scheduled in just under a month.

Roma are reportedly monitoring Atlético Madrid winger Ademola Lookman as his playing time at the Spanish club has steadily dwindled, with the Nigerian emerging as a possible alternative to Endrick, who remains at the top of the Giallorossi wish list for January. Repubblica.it reported the story today. Roma are said to be searching for an attacking winger who can add pace, quality and unpredictability to the attack. Lookman played a key role in some of the best seasons of his career under Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta, and the report links him directly to the Roma coach. He has made 15 appearances across La Liga and the Champions League this season, scoring two goals and providing one assist. Those figures are modest for a player who, in his first months in Madrid, had shown he could be an important figure for Diego Simeone. The clearest sign of his struggles came in Atlético's most recent league match against Barcelona. Lookman sat on the bench for the full 90 minutes of the 2-1 defeat and was not called on even as the game was still in progress. It was the first time this season that he had not found a place in a match. Meanwhile, Álex Baena is gaining ground on the left flank in Simeone's pecking order. Simeone, however, has recently reiterated his confidence in Lookman, highlighting his qualities in one-on-one situations. No transfer requests from the player have been reported, nor has Atlético shown any willingness to let him go. Lookman's career at Atalanta is the key reference point. He became one of the most incisive forwards in European football there, using his ability to start on the left, cut inside and attack the goal with speed and great efficiency. The peak of his time in Bergamo remains the hat-trick he scored in the 2024 Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, which gave La Dea a historic trophy. The relationship with Gasperini has not always been smooth. In February 2025, after Lookman missed a penalty against Bruges in the Champions League, Gasperini criticised his decision to take the kick harshly, prompting a public reply from the player. That episode, the report says, does not erase the work the two did together or Lookman's remarkable growth under the coach. From a technical standpoint, the report says Lookman would fit many of Gasperini's requirements. He is a right-footed attacking winger, quick, skilful in dribbling and capable of creating numerical superiority from the left flank, exactly the kind of player the coach has been asking for over recent months to complete the attacking unit. Compared with Endrick, Lookman would bring greater experience and a deep understanding of the coach's systems. The financial terms of any deal still need to be assessed. Lookman is tied to Atlético Madrid, and Roma must respect precise financial constraints, favouring formulas for January that keep the immediate outlay down. A loan could be a route worth exploring, but there is currently no indication that the Spanish club would accept that solution. For now, Roma are monitoring developments, and the report describes Lookman as a name that could gain weight if the situation in Madrid changes. Gasperini knows the Nigerian's value well and how to get the most from his qualities.

Rodrigo Mora has become a fixed presence for Gian Piero Gasperini after just two months, scoring four Serie A goals in nine appearances. Roma paid 25 million euros for the Portugal international, with a further 25 million to Porto possible. Mora is already part of the Portugal national team set-up. While Tommaso Baldanzi struggles to find space at Genoa under Daniele De Rossi, Mora is a regular starter for Gasperini. He ended a difficult start to the season with three goals in a row, against Genoa, Udinese and Sassuolo. He had never scored in three consecutive matches at Porto. His four league goals are double the two the former number 35 scored in 54 matches over two years. He has also registered two assists, against Real Madrid and Manchester United. The young playmaker's form matters for Roma's wider plans. Gasperini is enjoying a pairing of very young attacking midfielders. Rodrigo, born in 2007, works well alongside Matías Soulé, born in 2003. Paulo Dybala returns from the trip to Parma, but Mora will also find his place in Gasperini's system. Before the end of the year, Roma play seven matches in under a month, so the squad will need every option. The article stresses that the squad has room for everyone. Rodrigo's rise has changed the early-season picture, and his goals and assists have given Gasperini a clear reason to build his attack around him alongside Soulé and Dybala.

Roma's January transfer window risks becoming one of the pivotal moments of their season, with the club's challenge being to identify the players Gian Piero Gasperini genuinely needs without repeating the improvised mid-season dealings of the past. The summer window closed with at least two unresolved issues, perhaps three: a full-back, preferably left-footed, an attacking winger capable of giving bursts of pace and depth, and, despite the club's own assessments, a fifth central midfielder. The central midfield is probably the most underestimated concern. Manu Koné, Bryan Cristante, Marten de Roon and Niccolò Pisilli form a reliable unit in quality terms, but four players for two places, considering the Champions League, Serie A and the Coppa Italia, is a fairly thin resource. Roma's recent admission that a forward-thinking winger of real pace is the priority, recognising a gap that already emerged at the end of the summer market, was described as an important acknowledgement, since it means the club and the coach have identified a precise need. The question now is whether they can meet it without simply buying someone. January is not July. There are no summer training camps, no preparation weeks and no time to teach Gasperini's football from scratch, a system that demands reading of the game, physical condition, timing and a willingness to sacrifice. Anyone who arrives must be ready almost immediately, because the risk of signing a player who only understands the system by March is far from remote. The experience of Zaragoza and Venturino, signed in a hurry last year and sold just as quickly this summer, should have taught the club something. Those deals were meant to add attacking options but produced a contribution below expectations. What is needed is not necessarily another Grenier, a player brought in to fill a line on the team sheet without really changing the team's possibilities. Better one right signing than three alternatives destined to remain just that, especially as Roma have shown they already have a competitive structure and need to be completed rather than rebuilt. The problem is that this time the calendar will not even allow the luxury of waiting. From 2 to 31 January, Roma will play nine matches across Serie A, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia. The first three come in just eight days: Frosinone on 2 January, Venezia on 5 January and Milan on 9 January. Then comes Verona in the cup, Atalanta, the decisive European fixtures against AEK Athens and Lille, Udinese and Monza. The sequence could steer three competitions at once, making it essential to reach the restart after Christmas with all available resources. The market opens on 1 January, but D'Amico believes the work must be substantially completed well before then. Waiting until the final days to save money could leave Gasperini without reinforcements just as points start to matter more. Equally, rushing through profiles that are not fully convincing simply to present them at Trigoria in the first days of the month would be just as dangerous. That is the balance to strike: being in a hurry without being rushed. Gasperini has shown he can develop a squad built around his ideas, but also that not every player is automatically suited to his style, so January's business must be built on shared choices rather than last-minute opportunities. Roma have already lost too much time in the past trying to correct the mistakes of the previous market. This time they must do something different: complete what works. A reinforcement arriving on 3 January can change a season; the same player arriving on 31 January could find a Roma that has already played nine decisive matches. And certain opportunities, once missed, cannot be recovered with a signing.

Niccolò Pisilli has described head coach Gian Piero Gasperini as a "master" in a long interview with Spanish newspaper Marca, in which he also reflected on his first goal under José Mourinho, his time as captain, and his comparisons with Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi. The 22-year-old midfielder, a Roman and lifelong Roma supporter, recently scored in the Champions League against Slovan Bratislava. Pisilli said wearing the captain's armband had been an honour. "It was an honour. A series of circumstances meant the captain's armband ended up on my arm. It's not that I'm now the captain. Every minute I played with that armband was a source of great pride and great responsibility." He was quick to put his brief spell in context against the club's legends. "They are legendary figures, they cannot be compared with someone who wore the armband for just 20 minutes. I am still just a boy, I am 22 years old, and I wore the armband for 20 minutes only by chance." Asked whether he had posters of Totti or De Rossi as a child, he said: "Yes, of course. Being a Roma fan, they are legends of the city. But I never had a single idol. I have always loved football in general, so I watched many players I admired." On the Roman derby and the season, Pisilli said: "Absolutely. Overall, this is a very exciting championship. There is more action, it is more dynamic, there is more effective playing time, and many more goals are scored. I think it is more enjoyable for home fans to watch the matches. We are doing well, both Roman teams, but the final verdict will come at the end of the season." On the derby itself he added: "Beyond the league table, these are always very difficult and very special matches." Pisilli spoke warmly of Mourinho, under whom he made his debut and scored his first goal. "Mourinho really immersed himself in Roma and the atmosphere of Roma. I will always be grateful to him because he gave me the opportunity to debut in this shirt and the great satisfaction of scoring my first goal. After that first goal, I could not hold back the emotion. It all happened naturally, I did not do it on purpose. It was a very instinctive reaction." Describing the moment in the dressing room, he said: "After the goal, I did not really understand what was happening. I was completely confused. It was such a strong emotion, totally unexpected, that it is very difficult to describe. When the ball went in, I said: 'I can't believe it.' I really could not believe it. Even in the dressing room I could not calm down. I was trying to compose myself. It was the 3-0 goal in a Europa League match, but at that moment it felt to me like the most important goal in the world. It was an extremely strong emotion." Asked about Camavinga's claim that Mourinho is very funny, Pisilli replied: "He is a truly exquisite person. His career speaks for itself. When you talk to him, you try to learn as much as possible: how he won so much, how he transformed so many players. He is someone from whom you can learn an enormous amount, for everything he has to offer. When you know someone can share so much knowledge, you try to listen and absorb as much as you can." On Gasperini, he said: "The coach needs no introduction. He changed the history of a club like Atalanta. He came to us and in his first year we achieved a great result, returning to the Champions League. He is a master. He is really excellent. You can see it in the way his teams play. I try to give my all in every training session and every meeting to fully understand what he asks of me. I also try to learn as much as I can from him." On his best position, Pisilli said the coach's demands ultimately decide the role. "My main role is that of a number 10, but it depends. One coach might ask you to play as a trequartista in a certain way, and another might ask for something completely different. In the end, it is the playing patterns that make the difference rather than the roles themselves." He also discussed Pedri, whom he admires. "When I watch him play, I notice great personality on the ball and enormous calm. He plays as if it were the easiest thing in the world." Told he had a very Spanish style, he replied: "I appreciate it a lot because, in my view, it is a great compliment. Spain has always had fantastic midfielders. I have always said I like this style of football. I grew up watching, perhaps, Guardiola's Barcelona, who moved the ball with such ease. I really like this style of play and I work as hard as I can to keep improving in these areas." On the recent meeting with Real Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico, Pisilli said it was hard to explain. "We played a match of the highest level against the most decorated team in the world. We played very well for much of the match, but we had three moments of collapse in very similar situations. These things are hard to explain. They happen in football, but I think we played well. We saw the errors, we analysed those situations and we kept playing well and developing our style of play." He added: "I think we showed we can compete with anyone. If we are focused, compact and really act as a team, we have shown we can trouble anyone. Those 70 minutes against Real Madrid were really very positive." Asked whether he had learned from it, he said: "Afterwards it was hard, but yes, you learn a lot from matches like this." Finally, on the Italian national team's struggles, Pisilli said: "Italy has been absent from the World Cup for a long time, but I believe Italian football is trying to come back. They have everything they need to do it. The first cycle with this new coach has gone very well, so we must have faith and be aware that they must and can return."

Roma midfielder Niccolò Pisilli has said he is not the club's captain, describing his 20 minutes wearing the armband as a matter of circumstance, in an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca. Speaking about his passion for the club and the goal he scored in front of the Curva Sud, the 22-year-old said: "I have never hidden being a Roma fan since I was very young. It was an honour." He added that a series of circumstances led to the armband landing on his arm. Pisilli was asked about comparisons with club legends Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi, and was clear that there is no basis for them. "Totti and De Rossi are sacred monsters who cannot be compared to my 20 minutes," he said. "I don't know how many matches they played with that armband, they made the history of this club. I am still a boy, I am 22 years old, I played 20 minutes as captain by chance. They are myths of the city." He stressed that every minute he has worn the armband has been a great source of pride and a great responsibility. On the Scudetto race, Pisilli described Serie A this season as a very beautiful championship. "Overall, this is a very beautiful league. There is more play, it is more dynamic, there is more effective time and many more goals are scored. I think it is more enjoyable for the audience at home to watch the matches." He said both Roman clubs are doing things well, but added: "We will do the accounts at the end, at the end of the season." Asked what he would do if Roma won the title, he replied: "I don't know. We would celebrate in great style, that is certain. I could not say exactly what I would do. Now we have to think match by match and, as I said, in the end the accounts will be made." Pisilli also paid tribute to head coach Gasperini and former manager Mourinho. He said of Gasperini: "Gasperini does not need an introduction from me. The history of a club like Atalanta has changed. He came to us and in the first year we got an excellent result and returned to the Champions League. He is a master. He is really very good. This is seen in the way his teams play. I try to do well in every training session and at every moment to fully understand what he is asking. I try to learn as much as I can from him too." On Mourinho, he said: "Mourinho identified very strongly with Roma and with the atmosphere of the city. I will always be grateful to him, because he gave me the opportunity to make my debut in this shirt and the great satisfaction of scoring my first goal."