Prior to the end of the previous campaign, Serie A fans were delighted with the news of José Mourinho’s return to the Italian peninsula. Therefore, we simply knew that whoever Roma were going to sign during the summer transfer session, the new season will surely be marked by the arrival of the Special One.
Nonetheless, the capital club was still able to pull off a relatively solid transfer campaign – taking into account the financial troubles that ravaged other sides – and for once, the Giallorossi didn’t sell their best assets. So let’s have a closer look at Roma’s Calciomercato, before making our final assessment.
Departures
Whilst Roma usually end up selling their stars for profit, they spent their last transfer session cutting off some of the deadwood, with most of them being either loaned out or simply released. During Paulo Fonseca’s tenure, Alessandro Florenzi turned from club captain to complete outcast, and his status didn’t change with the arrival of the second Portuguese tactician in a row, and has been sent on loan to Milan.
After two disappointing seasons, Pau Lopez was sent to Marseille after failing to cement himself as a reliable number one. Cenzig Under joined him in Southern France. Justin Kluivert will also play in Ligue 1, having joined Nice on loan, while Bruno Peres was sent to Turkey.
Edin Dzeko finally left the Italian capital, joining Inter as Romelu Lukaku’s replacement, whilst Pedro completed a rare switch, signing for La Magica’s fierce rivals Lazio after being released from his contract. Antonio Mirante, Javier Pastore and Juan Jesus have also left the club, with the latter joining Napoli.
? DEAL DONE: AC Milan have signed Alessandro Florenzi on a season-long loan from Roma. (Source: @acmilan) pic.twitter.com/qf6Fz9ikeA
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) August 21, 2021
Arrivals
On the other hand, Roma brought in four new players during the summer transfer session, and interestingly enough, sporting director Tiago Pinto acquired their services on permanent deals, rather than the usual temporary transfers witnessed throughout the summer in Italy.
Tammy Abraham‘s 40 million euro switch from Chelsea rendered him the most expensive player to land in Italy during this particularly poor summer. The Englishman wasn’t the only purchase in attack, with Eldor Shomurodov arriving from Genoa.
Matias Vina was signed to replace Leonardo Spinazzola who’s healing from the injury he sustained in Euro 2020, and in Rui Patricio, the Giallorossi should finally have a reliable and experienced goalkeeper between the posts.
Roma’s transfer video campaign has helped to find 12 missing children ??? Roma forward Eldor Shomurodov says it is ‘hard to explain the happiness’ he felt when his transfer announcement led to a Polish girl being found @Msmariablack https://t.co/HshwiRHM0s
— 2024WonderWomanOnTarget (@EdnaKB2) August 28, 2021
Best Coup
If there had been any doubt, Tammy Abraham‘s impressive performances in the first two Serie A rounds should raise the dust on the manner, and the young striker should be proclaimed as one of the best transfers during the current market. The former Chelsea man is smart, powerful and has already integrated well in Mourinho’s lineup.
? @DigitalBitsOrg ???? ??
A first goal in Italy, a big all-round performance – congratulations to Tammy Abraham on being voted the top performer against Salernitana!
#ASRoma #SalernitanaRoma pic.twitter.com/abU0oydoss— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) August 30, 2021
Worst Blow
Truth to be told, Roma weren’t hit with a major blow this time around. Surely Dzeko’s goals might be missed, but his departure was a timely one, and the same for Florenzi’s leadership, but after enduring a sudden fall from grace two years ago, it’s time for him to settle somewhere else.
However, if we must pick a negative aspect for the club’s summer campaign, then it would be their failure to offload some of the players who were rightly considered to be surplus to requirements by Mourinho himself, the likes of Steven N’Zonzi, Federico Fazio and Davide Santon, which left the manager with an overloaded squad of 31 men.
SE COMPLICA TODO?❌
?N'Zonzi rechaza 3M€ al año ofrecidos por Qatar.
?Pastore no acepta la rescisión de contrato si no se cumplen sus debidas condiciones.
?Fazio rechaza al Genoa y busca de cualquier modo jugar con la Roma. pic.twitter.com/xdrXoyqhOV
— AS Roma NOTICIAS (@RealidadRoma) August 30, 2021
Missed Chance
For several weeks, Granit Xhaka‘s transfer from Arsenal to Roma was perceived as a done deal. However, it eventually collapsed, and the player ended up signing a contract extension at North London.
Watching the Swiss midfielder suffering week in week out with the Gunners surely isn’t an impressive sight. However, Arsenal are a team in shambles at the moment, and we’ve seen what Xhaka can do in a proper tactical system at Euro 2020. The Switzerland international would have made an interesting addition for Mourinho’s midfield.
Roma General Manager Tiago Pinto: "Xhaka wanted to come to Roma, #Arsenal didn’t have any intention of selling at that moment, so that was a regret at the time" pic.twitter.com/XC9eEqjC0N
— Gurjit (@GurjitAFC) September 1, 2021
Final Rating
As we mentioned above, Pinto and company performed a solid job during the summer transfer session, and we already saw Roma enjoying their football once again – albeit they’re yet to face great adversity. With a more experienced and charismatic tactician, plus a young and improving squad, the capital side can now aspire to play in a more prestigious European competition than the Conference League starting next season.
Rating: 7.5
One of the best mercato’s we’ve seen by Roma in some time now. It definitely has a lot to do with appointing a manager like Mourinho.
Pinto did a great job of bringing in what Mourinho asked for while also getting rid of a lot of deadweight.
Grazie @friedkingroup
?✅?❤️ pic.twitter.com/AwQ4PDJYh0
— Enzo ?❤️ (@pure_romanista) August 31, 2021