Even Ndicka joined Roma on a Bosman move early in the summer and took part in every friendly, but he has yet to debut despite the departure of Roger Ibanez. José Mourinho fielded Gianluca Mancini, Chris Smalling, and Diego Llorente in each of the first three matches.
Per Il Messaggero (via Tuttomercatoweb), the Special One sniped at the defender during the summer.
“He has to learn how to play to us. He doesn’t know it yet.”
In addition, Ndicka appeared a little sloppy in his preseason outings. Therefore, the coach opted to stick with Llorente, who returned on loan from Leeds United, as he’s more familiar with their system.
According to Goal, the situation will change after the break, when the Giallorossi will be forced to rotate more. They have just four options in their rearguard. Everybody is bound to get regular minutes. Moreover, the Frenchman could feature as a left-back if Mourinho ever decides to switch to a four-man line.
Our Take on Roma and Ndicka
Despite their old-fashioned tactics, the Giallorossi have been flat-out bad in the back first three matches. Some changes are coming, and the sooner they start integrating him, the better. The surprising and discouraging aspect is that Chris Smalling has been subpar. They’ll be hoping it’s just a matter of conditioning.
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