Gian Piero Gasperini has provided an in-depth explanation of his preferred approach for AS Roma’s summer transfer window, identifying players such as Donyell Malen or Wesley Franca as “ideal” targets for the Giallorossi.
The Roma head coach shared his insights on player recruitment, the team’s ongoing battle with injuries this season, and their recent 5-2 defeat against Inter during his pre-match press conference ahead of Friday’s Serie A match against Pisa.
Gasperini commenced his customary media briefing with an update on several key first-team players. He stated that he does not anticipate any surprise returns for the Pisa game but holds hope that the injury situation might begin to improve in time for the following weekend’s match against Atalanta.
“I believe Mancini will recover as early as next week; I hope Kone and Wesley will too,” Gasperini confirmed. “Their injuries are less severe. Dybala is doing quite well, but his recovery is more unpredictable. It will likely take a week or two.”
“Injuries have certainly hampered us from the end of December onwards, and they’ve all been very prolonged. The issue isn’t the number of injuries, but their duration. If you miss one or two weeks, you can still return. However, when you miss months, that falls outside the ‘normality’ in football. We’ve seen it with Ferguson, Bailey, Dovbyk, then Dybala, Soule, and Angelino.”
“We brought in Malen, but then we lost Dovbyk, Ferguson, Soule, and Dybala. We also faced an emergency in defense. Nevertheless, this team has consistently reacted well to emergencies, and we hope to continue doing so in these last seven games.”
Following his side’s 5-2 hammering away against league-leaders Inter, Gasperini stressed that his focus remains solely on the short-term future rather than the medium or long-term.
“We are not thinking about the future right now; we must concentrate on the present. We cannot allow the second half in Milan to happen again; there was definitely a collapse in mood, and that is the only thing that must never recur.”
Turning his attention to the upcoming challenge against Pisa, Gasperini added: “We will face a team that is almost relegated, but we know that Pisa is always a tough side that has delivered some excellent performances. We have no margin for error, starting tomorrow. We know that we can take a significant step forward tomorrow.”
Gasperini was asked if Lorenzo Pellegrini, whose contract expires at the end of the season, is expected to sign a new deal before the campaign concludes. Gasperini admitted the situation is uncertain but insisted that neither the player nor the coach is concerned.
“This situation has been the same since the beginning of the year; it hasn’t been addressed previously and has remained as it is. These are serious players; it’s impossible to predict now what could happen in a month. It depends on the will of the club and the players.”
“The situation regarding loans and expiring contracts, and who might potentially be on the market to help with the accounts, at the moment, are not a concern to anyone.”
“After losing 5-2 in Milan, Pellegrini took responsibility by doing interviews. I don’t know what will happen, but I’m grateful to this group for how they’ve conducted themselves this season.”
Gasperini was questioned about what players like Neil El Anyaoui, Daniele Ghilard, and Robinio Vaz need to do to earn more consistent playing time.
“We observe the players, and I make the choices. Ghilardi has played a lot, Vaz has played more than he did in Marseille, if that’s not sufficient for you…” Gasperini responded. “Everyone has played in this team, but some want you to play Vaz over Malen or Ghilardi over Ndicka. Of course, there is a team that plays regularly, and there are also players who come in and are developing. If that’s not enough, then I don’t know what more I can do.”
Gasperini was asked for his thoughts on suggestions that this Roma side is not “worthy” of a fourth-place finish in Serie A.
“All the defections we’ve had from a certain point in the season have undoubtedly weighed heavily. That doesn’t mean we haven’t tried our best. Everyone is free to have their own discussions, evaluations, and comparisons on the quality of individual players who have had to play. We are the ones who set the goal [of qualifying for the Champions League]; if we don’t achieve it, we will have done our utmost to reach it.”
Gasperini was asked if there are any players he considers “untouchable” heading into the summer transfer window.
He replied: “I think we always have to try and improve the team. Before you start thinking about depriving yourself of what you have, you first have to understand what to bring in. That’s the focus. We’d all like to have Messi or Ronaldo.”
“The goal is to improve the team incrementally. To me, it seems that if you look at Roma on Transfermarkt, we’ve brought in 30 players, and only four or five play. I don’t blame anyone, but perhaps there’s a need for different targets.”
“I’ve seen great players and teams at Roma; the fans recognize quality players. I’m more inclined to that sort of idea – quality over quantity – rather than bringing in 30 players. Not everyone might share the same opinion.”
Following up, Gasperini was asked what kind of targets he would like the club to pursue during the summer transfer window.
“This is a choice that the club has to make,” he responded. “Maybe you go for players with big contracts, which happened in the past and the owners might not want to do anymore. Another solution could be to focus on very young players, but I don’t know if a team like Roma can accept lowering the team’s ambitions to focus on youngsters.”
“Another, the ideal solution, are targets like Malen, Wesley, at those costs and those salaries. It’s not easy, but maybe you need to work on those targets. If you find ten, brilliant. If you find two, work on those two.”