The Latest AS Roma News
Roma are set to open negotiations over the permanent signing of Chris Smalling, according to widespread reports.
The English centre-back has made an extremely positive first impression since sealing a season-long loan move from Manchester United, being a man of the match candidate in each of the five games he has played so far. Roma have kept two clean sheets since Smalling came into the side, with the 29-year-old already firmly established as the strongest defender at the club. With his loan costing €3m but including no option to buy, it has now been reported by Gianluca Di Marzio that Roma are set to resume talks with Man Utd in the coming weeks to negotiate a price for a permanent signing. Corriere Dello Sport journalist Jacopo Aliprandi reported that Smalling's agent was present at Trigoria on Friday, sowing the seeds for talk of a transfer. Smalling was at the centre of a controversy on Thursday, being penalised for a 'hand ball' which led to Borussia Monchengladbach equalising from the penalty spot in the 1-1 Europa League draw - despite replays clearly showing the ball hit his head, and the referee publicly admitting his error via Roma's social media channels. After the game, Smalling voiced his disbelief at the decision via Twitter, following up with his first ever declaration of 'Daje Roma'.
The news comes as another English player - former Blackburn midfielder Jack Rodwell - underwent a trial with the club, with a view to signing as a free agent. The club will choose between him and ex-Empoli man Marcel Buchel, with the selected man being given a contract until the end of the season.
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Federico Fazio has set his sights on playing for Roma for the rest of his career, while claiming that compatriot Javier Pastore is in his best shape since joining the club.
Fazio has been one of Roma's most-used defenders so far this season, at the start of his fourth full campaign with the club. The Argentine could add to his five league starts of 2019-20 on Sunday, when Roma travel to face Sampdoria - who have recently appointed former Giallorossi manager Claudio Ranieri, a coach under whom Fazio's form vastly improved last season. "Ranieri is a good manager with a lot of experience in football," Fazio told Sky Sport. "He’s arriving at a club who are going through a tough period, but given his experience, he can give them the motivation they need. We wish him well but we’ll greet him after the match: we want to win." Fazio is one of three Argentines in the squad, with the others, Diego Perotti and Javier Pastore, often having to combat fitness problems. But their teammate says both of the attacking midfielders are nearly ready to contribute again. "Diego returned to training last week, little by little he is picking up the pace to get back into the best shape possible. Pastore is always training hard, this is the best shape I’ve seen him in since he arrived." Another player with ties to Roma currently in Argentina is legendary former captain Daniele De Rossi, who is now playing for Boca Juniors. But when asked if he would follow his old teammate to the Argentine club, Fazio, 32, responded by pledging his future to Roma - with whom he signed a contract extension over the summer. "He’s doing well there and we hope they win against River Plate. I don’t know if I’ll finish my career there, I think I’ll finish it at Roma." Should Fazio start on Sunday, he will partner either Gianluca Mancini or Chris Smalling, with Paulo Fonseca yet to finalise his strongest centre-back partnership. However, Fazio says he is happy to play alongside either of them. "Playing right, left, with one player or another makes no difference. Smalling comes from the Premier League, which is different, Mancini is young and still has a lot ahead of him. I get along well with both." After the Sampdoria game, Roma will face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Europa League, a competition which fans have every right to be optimistic about the team's chances in. However, Fazio knows that, if they are to conquer the competition, Roma must take things one step at a time. "It’s a good competition - you can’t underestimate it. There’s already strong teams in it and then you’ll also have teams from the Champions League join. We have to continue calmly and slowly, let’s worry about winning the group first. Amadou Diawara has undergone surgery after injuring his knee in Roma's draw with Cagliari on Sunday.
In an intense physical battle that ended as a draw, Diawara fell victim of a foul by Luca Cigarini, with the effects of the challenge being fully felt minutes later when the Guinean went down off the ball. The midfielder looked to be in agony and had to be replaced after describing to the medical staff the discomfort he felt in his knee. Fans were fearing the worst after Devid Bouah and Davide Zappacosta's recent ACL injuries, but examinations at the Villa Stuart medical centre have today confirmed that Diawara's injury is not that serious. The ex-Napoli man has suffered a torn meniscus to his left knee, on which surgery has been performed, ruling him out for between 30 and 40 days. Also present at Villa Stuart this morning was Edin Dzeko, who had surgery on two fractured cheekbones. Like Diawara, the striker could be out for around a month. Davide Zappacosta’s Roma career could be over having barely begun, as the on-loan defender has ruptured his ACL in his knee.
The news was confirmed by the club on Friday after a training session, just days after the right-back returned to the group following a previous injury. Only on loan from Chelsea until January, although the club had the option of extending his stay until the end of the season, Zappacosta’s long-term future is now in serious doubt. If he returns to Chelsea for his recovery - expected to take at least four months - he will leave having only played 12 minutes of Serie A action for Roma. Zappacosta is the latest in a worrying long line of Roma players to suffer ACL injuries in recent years, with Kevin Strootman, Rick Karsdorp and Alessandro Florenzi among the most high-profile names to be affected - while Primavera right-back Devid Bouah suffered a second injury of the sort last month. Fellow right-back Alessandro Florenzi is also at risk of missing Sunday’s clash with Cagliari, with a much less serious injury - a bout of the flu. Best wishes to Davide for a full recovery. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has become the latest player to join Roma’s treatment table, as a thigh injury has ruled the attacking midfielder out for three weeks.
The on-loan Arsenal star was in visible discomfort during the second half of Roma’s win over Lecce on Sunday, eventually being substituted off. Tests conducted at the Villa Stuart medical centre on Tuesday have confirmed that the Armenian has suffered a strain to the adductor in his right thigh. This means that Mkhitaryan will miss roughly three weeks - being unavailable for the games against Wolfsberger, Cagliari and Sampdoria. The news is a further blow to Roma, who learned earlier that they would be without fellow attacking midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini until December, due to a fractured metatarsal. It has since been confirmed that Pellegrini will be ruled out for around 60 days. Roma legend Aldair has praised defender Chris Smalling after the Englishman's positive start to the season.
In his two appearances for Roma so far, Smalling has been a man of the match candidate, impressing with his reading of the game and the timing of his tackles - plus his organisational ability. The reception upon his signing was somewhat mixed, given that Roma had spent the summer chasing the likes of Toby Alderweireld, while the skepticism would have increased when it was announced that Smalling would be wearing the number six shirt. That number had belonged to Aldair for the best part of a decade, and was retired following his departure from the club in 2003. Since then, only Kevin Strootman had worn it - but only with Aldair's permission. Hence, Smalling is only the third player this century to wear the iconic jersey for Roma, but Aldair insists that his first impressions of the on-loan Manchester United man have been positive. "Someone like Smalling can be very useful," he told Gazzetta Dello Sport. "The teams attack more and the defenders have to attack the man near the goal more, without turning around. It's not easy to do." Claudio Ranieri has told Paulo Fonseca to continue to implement his style of play following Roma's positive start to the season.
Fonseca was chosen as the replacement for interim manager Ranieri over the summer, and he has continued the good work laid down by his predecessor so far, only tasting one defeat. In the wake of Roma's most recent win over Lecce, Ranieri was asked for his thoughts on the new-look side by Radio Uno. "It seems to me that Fonseca is doing a good job, he is making the players understand," said the former Chelsea and Leicester boss. "He seems very intelligent, he has understood the difficulties of the team; now they start to take less through balls, they cover the depth better. "I believe that his philosophy is coming out, reading the newspapers I see that the players are very happy. He was a good choice." When asked to give a piece of advice to Fonseca, Ranieri replied that he should stick to that philosophy. "To go ahead on his way, he is working well. It is logical that the Roma fans, when you win, take you to the stars, but I believe that this year they know they are renewing many things. There is a good mix of young and experienced players, I am certain that Roma will have a great season." Roma's form under Ranieri towards the end of last season led some to believe he would have been a suitable candidate for the permanent manager's role before Fonseca was even linked, but the 67-year-old confirmed that he knew from the start that he would not be considered. "It was already agreed from the beginning, from when I signed I knew that at the end of the year I would go away. "For me it was not a bad ending, but it certainly was for Daniele [De Rossi] and Francesco [Totti]." |
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