The first few matches of the campaign exposed the fact that Roma are a little thin in a pair of positions. In the midfield, which they unsuccessfully tried to bolster in the summer, Jordan Veretout and Bryan Cristante have been excellent, while the backups have struggled. But the more urgent need appears to be at right-back.
José Mourinho does not consider Bryan Reynolds to be ready for Serie A. Therefore, Roma have a hole behind starter Rick Karsdorp. The gaffer fielded Roger Ibanez out of position against CSKA Sofia when he wanted to rest the Dutchman.
The coach has ruled out reintegrating Davide Santon. Roma will look for a new option in January and are monitoring Diogo Dalot, Calciomercato.com reports. The Portuguese defender stayed in Manchester after a good season at Milan. The Rossoneri tried to have him back, but the Red Devils did not let him go for their desired formula. They brought in Alessandro Florenzi instead.
Despite that, Dalot has not featured much in the first part of the season. He has collected just two appearances, for a total of 54 minutes, mostly against Young Boys in Champions League. Mourinho was helming Manchester United when they first signed him. The coach was very complimentary at the time: “Considering his age, he is the best right-back around, and he has a bright future ahead of him. He is very talented and has everything in place to become a great player.” Roma will try to acquire him on loan with option to buy.