Baldanzi Bouncing Back After Difficult Start at Roma

Tommaso Baldanzi struggled to make an impact in his first few months at Roma after joining from Empoli last January, but he’s been a bright spot at the start of the season. He has outshined Matias Soulé, who was supposed to have a large role right away.

According to Il Messaggero, the Giallorossi’s faith in him never wavered, even though he got lost in the shuffle following José Mourinho’s dismissal. They paid €15M to acquire him from Empoli after they obtained some leeway from UEFA amid their Financial Fair Play restrictions.

Baldanzi has yet to start in Serie A for Roma this season, while he’s done it twice in Europa League, but has appeared in every game and has routinely managed to make an impact. He provided an assist versus Empoli and scored against Udinese.

The talent will look for some consistency in the next few games. He’s already scored against Inter in the past in arguably the best showing of his career. Daniele De Rossi tried to turn him into a box-to-box, with some success, while he’ll play as a no.10 in Ivan Juric’s 3-4-2-1.

Our Take on Roma and Baldanzi

Youngsters often simply need a bit of time of patience, and he didn’t land in the ideal team for somebody to grow in peace and without pressure. In those intangible factors, has a six-month advantage over Soulé, who’ll eventually find his footing as well; plus, he’s more versatile and an easier fit than the former Frosinone loanee since he’s more used to operating centrally.