The Roman Report — 8 June 2026 – 14 June 2026

There is a feeling in the air this June — restless, electric, the kind that only arrives when a club genuinely believes it stands on the edge of something. And at the centre of Roma's summer ambitions sits a name that has been circulating for weeks now: Mason Greenwood. Reports from La Provence that the Englishman has handed back the keys to his home near Aix-en-Provence carry the unmistakable weight of finality. Greenwood is leaving Marseille. The question — the only question that matters to us — is whether he is coming to the Stadio Olimpico. Gasperini has identified him as the man to elevate this squad, and you can understand why. The pace, the directness, the goals, the two seasons of genuine elite form in Ligue 1 — Greenwood at his best is a problem that no defender in Serie A wants to face. The gap between what Roma are offering and what Marseille want, somewhere in the region of ten million euros, is real but not insurmountable. Fenerbahce's withdrawal from the race gives the Giallorossi breathing room, and while Atlético Madrid and the money of Al Hilal lurk on the periphery, this deal has a logic to it — a coach who wants him, a project that suits him, a city that would adore him — that the others simply cannot match. Tony D'Amico cannot arrive in his role a moment too soon.

Speaking of D'Amico, the incoming sporting director will find his in-tray considerably fuller than perhaps he bargained for. The attacking rebuild — built around Malen and Dybala, with Pellegrini threading through the lines — gets most of the headlines, and rightly so. But anyone who watched Roma carefully this season knows that the backline was the foundation upon which Gasperini built his Champions League qualification push. That foundation now needs shoring up, urgently. Ndicka's future is clouded by Financial Fair Play concerns, Kumbulla is returning from injury, Ziolkowski needs minutes he will not find here — and if the numbers fall the wrong way, Roma could enter a demanding European campaign with a dangerously thin defensive unit. Gasperini has been unambiguous about what he needs: quality and experience at the back, a genuine starter and a reliable deputy. The names doing the rounds — Lucumì off the back of an expiring Bologna contract, Muharemovic emerging from Sassuolo, Solet representing perhaps the finest available profile — each carry their own complications and price tags. Solet in particular would be ideal, but Inter's advanced interest suggests Roma may need to move quickly or look elsewhere. This is where a sporting director earns his reputation.

There is one piece of news this week that will not attract the same column inches as Greenwood or the defensive targets, but which I suspect Gasperini views as an unexpected gift. Wesley will not be participating in the World Cup. In pure football terms, that is a blow for the player himself — tournament absences at his age leave marks — but from Roma's perspective, it means their defender returns fresh, unencumbered by the physical and mental toll of a month-long competition, and straight back into the fold under the coach who knows best how to use him. In a summer where squad management and physical condition will matter enormously as Roma juggle domestic and European commitments, having Wesley available and rested rather than drained and recovering is no small thing.

Roberto Pruzzo, a man who knows what it means to wear the Giallorossi with distinction, said something this week that struck me as both simple and profound. He called on D'Amico to find the next outstanding talent — the way Malen's arrival changed the conversation around this squad — and he is absolutely right. Roma need not just signings, but discoveries, the kind of move that makes the rest of Serie A reassess what this club is capable of. Meanwhile, the whisper from those closer to the negotiating table is that the coming week could prove decisive on the contract renewal front — which tells you that D'Amico, not yet officially installed, is already casting a long shadow over proceedings. These renewals matter. Stability in the squad you trust is just as valuable as the new faces you bring in.

And then there is Baris Alper Yilmaz, the Galatasaray winger whose eight goals and twelve assists last season — part of a remarkable three-year run of creativity that has yielded thirty-four assists alone — have understandably caught the eye. At twenty-four, with Turkey caps to his name and a crowd at the Rams Park that worships him, he is exactly the kind of player Roma should be monitoring. The problem, as ever, is price. Galatasaray want forty-five to fifty million euros, Arsenal are sniffing around, and the market has a way of inflating whenever a club of that size enters the conversation. Gasperini's priority remains Greenwood — and I share that priority entirely — but the prudent course is to pursue both tracks simultaneously. If the Greenwood deal stalls, Roma cannot afford to have wasted the intervening weeks.

The World Cup begins this week, and while several of Roma's players will represent their nations on the grandest stage, the club's own summer drama is only just beginning. A sporting director to be confirmed, a defensive market to navigate, and a chase for Greenwood that could define the entire transfer window — the next fortnight will tell us a great deal about the ambition that Gasperini and this ownership are prepared to back with real action. Roma supporters have been patient. They deserve to see that patience rewarded.