Roma boss Jose Mourinho has admitted the Stadio Olimpico powerbrokers may intervene in the January transfer market to ‘give more balance to the team.’ It’s not been the best of starts for the Special One in Rome, as his side head into the business end of the year trailing fourth-placed Atalanta by nine points.
Roma had a bit quiet summer transfer window. Except for Tammy Abraham’s big-money arrival from Chelsea, the Giallorossi failed to land any household name. While the ex-Wolverhampton goalkeeper Rui Patricio nailed down the spot between the sticks as his own, former Genoa forward Eldor Shomurodov has struggled to make an impact.
Following a promising start to the season, Roma have run out of steam recently, moving from fourth to seventh in the table as they face an uphill task of locking down Champions League promotion for the first time since 2017/18. Despite bringing in the likes of Abraham and welcoming Nicolo Zaniollo back from injury, the Giallorossi have stuttered in the front third this term.
It seems as if Roma players have rallied behind the captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, who has been a rare shining light at the Stadio Olimpico this season. However, the Italian midfield dynamo has picked up a nasty-looking thigh injury, leaving his side high and dry. In the absence of Pellegrini, Jordan Veretout and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have stumbled out of the blocks.
The midfield duo has failed to provide creativity and flair in the middle of the park, making it abundantly clear that the Giallorossi need to capture a new midfielder in the January transfer window. Pellegrini has been Roma’s driving force, but a lack of support he’s been getting from his teammates threatens Roma’s efforts to mount a top-four challenge.
Mourinho is aware his team needs another engine in the center of the pitch, as he revealed his frustration for failing to land a new midfielder in the summer.
“I am not unhappy with our summer signings, we didn’t argue because they didn’t sign a midfielder,” he said, as relayed by TUTTOmercatoWEB. “It was a reactive transfer window, so we couldn’t sign certain players. I’ve understood the difficulties. I want the best possible team, but I know we won’t make a big investment [in January] as we usually do during the summer.“
He also announced Roma’s ideas for the upcoming transfer window.
“In January, we will give more balance to the team. Let’s see if we can do something we have a few limits and in a normal situation, the team would be more balanced. But now we have three games and we must collect as many points as possible.”