Roma finished last season at sixth in Serie A. On one hand it’s a respectable finish for a side who lost their manager Jose Mourinho halfway through the season after a bad run. On the other hand it is another failed attempt at Champions League qualification, another case of coming close but not quite reaching their goals. Can they go one better this coming campaign?
AS Roma have seen a decent amount of transfer activity this summer, but is the talent they have gone in going to replace and better the players they have lost? New signings have to fill the gaps and more if this team is to be successful.
Roma won the UEFA Conference League in 2022 but haven’t won the Serie A since 2001 or the Coppa Italia since 2008. For a club so big you would certainly expect more but it hasn’t been so simple for the wolves of Rome in recent years. Ownership and manager changes have failed to really turn things around whilst the likes of Inter, Milan, Napoli and Juventus have all won titles.
Romelu Lukaku’s loan spell with the club ended this summer. Last year he scored 13 goals in Serie A and those goals need to be replaced. Especially considering nobody scored more. Luckily for Roma they have got Tammy Abraham returning from injury, Paulo Dybala on top form when he is avoiding injury and a new number 9 in the form of Artem Dovbyk.
Dovbyk was the golden boot winner in La Liga last season, scoring 24 times for Girona and also racking up eight assists. The Ukranian forward had a quiet Euro2024 campaign for his country but he showed last season that he can be one of the most prolific forwards in Europe. If he can replicate that form for Roma this year then they can expect considerably more goals than they got from Lukaku, and this could make all the difference in the race for Champions League qualification.
Roma have also signed the young Argentinian talent of Matías Soulé, who spent last season on loan with Frosinone from Juventus. Roma have spent over €25 million on the 21 year-old who has already impressed in pre-season and will likely feature in the starting XI a lot this year. Roma have also added central midfielder Enzo Le Fée from Stade Rennais this summer, as well as left-back Angeliño who was in Rome on loan last year.
Heading out the exit door as well as Lukaku however are the likes of Leonardo Spinazzola who has gone to Napoli on a free transfer and a whole host of loanees who played their role last season. Rasmus Kristensen, Diego Llorente and Dean Huijsen are all key defensive options exiting the club, with Sardar Azmoun and Renato Sanches also leaving. Have Roma failed to replace this depth?
Despite looking strong on paper, especially regarding the starting team, perhaps Roma are a bit lacking beyond that. When also considering that Roma need to not only match last year’s performance but significantly better it, these new signings really need to hit the ground running. Lady luck really needs to shine down on Daniele De Rossi’s men too, as the fitness of Abraham and Dybala could be make or break for what they can achieve this season. Both are key for consistency and creativity in the final third.
Roma also have a Europa league campaign to contend with. It will be another challenging season for the Giallorossi where they can undoubtedly compete as one of the top teams in the league, but given their squad depth and the competitive nature of this league, it’s hard to predict they will win a trophy or even get back into the promised land that is the European Cup.
Roma lost just one of six summer friendlies and they open their 2024/25 campaign with a visit to Cagliari and then Empoli at home. Six points would be a nice start before visiting Juventus on matchday three.
Joseph O’Sullivan | GIFN
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