SALERNO, ITALY - AUGUST 29: Eldor Shomurodov of AS Roma during the Serie A match between US Salernitana and AS Roma at Stadio Arechi on August 29, 2021 in Salerno, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Shomurodov Confirms Mourinho Instrumental in Transfer to Roma

Eldor Shomurodov was signed by Roma partly because of a pre-existent liaison with José Mourinho: “Everything happened within a week. He talked to my agent and with me. I could not believe the transfer would be completed so quickly. There is no pressure in working with him now. The first meeting with him was thrilling, and now we are like a master and his student. He is a great psychologist, and his practices are very interesting.”

The striker gave an interview to the Uzbek site Championat Asia: “There is a huge difference between Genoa and Roma. The former fight to avoid relegation, the latter for the first positions of the table. The Giallorossi have a top-notch organization.”

On the arrival of Tammy Abraham: “Everybody wants to play, and Roma are a big team. I always try to give my best, whether I start or come off the bench. We will play many games, and everybody will have his opportunity. It was tough to accept it at first, but everything is fine now. I keep training hard, and I can feature next to him as well. We have not experimented with that yet, but Mourinho knows I can play on the wings too. I think he will try it later on.”

Shormurodov concluded by indicating this season’s objectives for Roma: “Our main goal is to return in the Champions League, therefore a top-four finish in Serie A. Then we also aim at winning the European Conference League.” The forward joined the Giallorossi in a €17.5M move from Genoa.