Zidane praises Koné after Nations League display in unfamiliar midfield role

Roma's summer recruits have been involved in 36.5% of the club's goals this season, with 15 of the team's 41 strikes involving one of them. Gian Piero Gasperini has relied heavily on seven players who were not part of the squad in the last match of the previous campaign: Nahuel Molina, Marten de Roon, Leonardo Balerdi, Rodrigo Mora, Emanuele Lulli, Santiago Castro and Konstantinos Koulierakis. Lulli came up from the Primavera. Molina has been the most-used player, with 751 minutes, one goal and two assists. He is followed by De Roon (732 minutes), Balerdi (639), Mora (595), Lulli (546), Castro (370) and Koulierakis (225). Gasperini has given minutes to every summer arrival, including the Primavera graduate, showing confidence in the quality of the new players. Mora has been the most productive, with four goals and two assists. His recent form, with a sharp improvement in the latest matches, has eased doubts about the investment made in the summer, reported at €25 million plus 50% of a future resale, for a valuation of €50 million. Across all competitions, the new players have taken part in 15 of Roma's 41 goals. By comparison, at the same stage of last season, Massara's summer signings from that campaign had contributed to just three goals: Wesley with one goal, Ferguson with one assist and Tsimikas with one assist.

Mario Hermoso is close to signing a contract extension at Roma, with negotiations underway and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini pushing to finalise the agreement. According to La Repubblica, as reported by TeleRadioStereo, the deal would add two more years with an option. The centre-back's current contract expires at the end of the season. Hermoso has enjoyed a strong run in Rome, scoring 8 goals in 49 appearances for the club, three of them in the current campaign. Gasperini was influential in keeping him at the club in the first place. Hermoso joined as a free agent in 2024 after his time at Atlético Madrid, but he struggled to win regular minutes in his first few months. He was loaned to Bayer Leverkusen in January, and a shoulder injury prevented the German side from buying him outright, so he returned to Roma. Hermoso was reportedly on the chopping block in the summer of 2025, until Gasperini took a liking to him. The coach made him a linchpin of the side, as his skill set and dynamism suited his style well. The Real Madrid product also spent time at Espanyol earlier in his career and has five caps for Spain, although he has not been called up since 2019. Gasperini likes good ball handlers and sound athletes in every position, and especially in the 'braccetti' role. Hermoso's goalscoring is a bonus that has served the team well, as they can bring almost the whole side into the final third when they are firing. The extension is seen as a no-brainer, as the financial sums are not expected to be a problem.

Diego Tavano, agent of several players including Edoardo Bove, has spoken out about goalkeeper Slim Bouaskar, who has struggled to earn playing time with Roma this season, having made just two appearances for the Primavera side. Tavano spoke to journalist Eleonora Trotta. The goalkeeper, born in 2009, was included by The Guardian among the best emerging talents in world football, yet his season in Roma colours has so far failed to take off. Asked why Bouaskar is not finding the space everyone expected, Tavano said: "It's nice that so many people follow him and know him. They have certainly seen him also in the Tunisian national team, where he has worn the shirt of every age group. Now the call-up to the senior national team has also arrived. These are technical choices and we respect them. We have a year and a half left on his contract. It's a shame, because his path had been clean. He has always played in every championship. Last year, under age, he played in the Under-18s and helped the team of coach Scala achieve excellent results. We certainly expected that with Scala's promotion to the Primavera, there would be continuity. At the moment that is not the case, and we take note of it. The boy keeps training well and doing everything he has to do. Again, we have a year and a half left on the contract." Tavano acknowledged that a year and a half remaining on the deal is not a long time, yet several clubs are interested in the player. He said: "Certainly, also because The Guardian is one of the most important newspapers in Europe, but I don't think that is what makes the difference. I think that, if they are gathering information on him, it is above all because of what they have seen with Roma and with the national team. We start again from there. The contract is not long, but the opportunity to talk with Roma will not be missing. Again, I am certainly sorry, because today young players should have more space and there should be people with more courage. I always imagined him as a stable part of the first-team squad, and certainly playing in the Primavera." Asked whether Roma's recent situation had given the goalkeeper an important shop window, Tavano replied: "I have dealt with many goalkeepers, I have managed many of them. It is a rather particular role. At the moment, unfortunately, we are the anvil. We hope that one day we will be the hammer and that he can play for a important club. The dream is to play for Roma, since he grew up here."