Roma sporting director Tony D’Amico reviewed the club’s transfer business in his first press conference.
The manager began by reiterating that the club had to deal with UEFA’s restrictions: “We knew the restrictions, we knew our objectives and what to do. We partially succeeded, reducing the wage bill by about 15%. Strategies often change during the transfer window: it’s not just a matter of transfer fees, but also of wages and other details that are difficult to address today.”
D’Amico gave an initial assessment of the transfer market, specifying that the final conclusions will be drawn at the end of the year: “We’ll evaluate what we’ve achieved at the end of the year. I’m pleased that upon my arrival, we acquired four players who were key players for Roma last year. He’s talking about Dybala, Pellegrini, Mancini, and Cristante. The previous management had different ideas. They are important players, part of the historic core. I want to thank them, because thanks to their desire to stay, we reached an agreement.”
The sporting director began his journey with contract renewals, which he believes were crucial: “I’m pleased that upon my arrival, we acquired four players who were key players for Roma last year. He’s talking about Dybala, Pellegrini, Mancini, and Cristante. The previous management had different ideas.”
The director then said: “I’m pleased with who arrived: players we chose and who wanted to come to Roma. Others wanted to come, but we couldn’t find the right fit. Very few turned down Roma.”
Regarding the left winger, D’Amico said: “When I arrived, the priority was to strengthen the attack, but priorities need to be contextualized. There are many negotiations underway, even in parallel. We haven’t moved any small sums. Rodrigo Mora is available, and he can play as a winger. By contextualizing, I mean that when we were pursuing Summerville, we were also following other players who later arrived, like Castro. We were strong on both: we were able to close on one and not the other due to timing. We were interested in both profiles.” Numerically, the manager admitted that the squad may be short: “There are three competitions, the Champions League will require significant mental and physical effort.”
“Numerically, we may be a little short, but we’re confident that in January we’ll be able to identify a few more profiles. Realistically, we’re missing one player.” But the sporting director is confident that the shortcomings can be addressed in the January transfer window: “There are three competitions, and the Champions League will require significant mental and physical effort. Numerically, we may be a little short, but we’re confident we’ll be able to identify a few more players in January. Realistically, we’re missing one player. We’ll evaluate the free agents later.”
D’Amico then returned to Celik’s departure: “Pellegrini was the first player I spoke to. He’s incredibly attached to the shirt, and I never had any doubts that he could leave like Celik. Communication with the Turk was complicated, given that he was at the World Cup: the renewal was sealed, then he changed his mind…”
The director explained the steps leading up to his arrival in the capital: “My arrival in Rome began the moment Atalanta informed me of my dismissal. I found a great club, with great availability. The agreement with UEFA limits my options. Players need time to settle in: the same goes for managers.”
The sporting director said of his new experience: “It’s a great honor to arrive in the centenary year. Now, for me, there’s only Roma.”
D’Amico then focused on the deals made in the final hours of the transfer window: “For various reasons, we weren’t able to close deals on players we thought were worthy. Leweling had second thoughts, and at that point we stopped. The alternatives didn’t satisfy all of us. We had technical and bureaucratic problems with Luiz Henrique.”
Regarding the player acquisitions, the sporting director said: “This year, we invested in both young and ready players. We wanted to expand our core group: we believe this can make the difference. We don’t set ourselves any targets; Roma will be Roma.”
Finally, the director set himself a goal: to reach the Champions League with Roma: “Roma and Atalanta are two different clubs, with different catchment areas, but both have significant ambitions, like all football clubs. Here, they won the Champions League again last year, now I want to win it too.”
