Although the rumor mill has churned out a plethora of stories linking numerous new players to Roma almost daily, one name remained consistently linked to a move to the Giallorossi: Wesley. The young right-back from Brazilian club Flamengo was frequently associated with Roma and identified in the media as Gian Piero Gasperini’s top priority.
Although it took a considerable amount of time to finalize the transfer, Ricky Massara made sure that Gasperini secured his target with a €25+5 million deal. While
Wesley is a promising young player, many, including myself, haven’t seen enough of him to know much about his skills.
So, to get the lowdown on Wesley, we reached out to Flamengo fan Gabriel Foligno, who was kind enough to give us some insight on Roma’s new right-back.
Let’s begin by exploring Wesley’s early years as a footballer. Can you share any insights about his time in Flamengo’s youth academy? Was he always viewed as a top prospect? Did he feel like a player who would head to Europe sooner rather than later?
Not really. His journey is actually quite remarkable. When he first broke into the starting eleven, no one was sure if he was any good. Early on, he really struggled in the attacking phase. But to his credit, even when he was underperforming, he remained consistently solid defensively.
At some point, Flamengo supporters thought he couldn’t even be a bench option for us. However, everything changed when his move to Atalanta broke down. Nowadays, I’m pretty sure he has the potential to be a top right back in Italy and also start for Brazil.
At 21 years old, Wesley is probably still a few years away from his prime. What makes this the right time for him to move from the Brazilian Serie A to the Italian Serie A? Do you think he’s ready to join a club like Roma with high expectations?
He’s absolutely ready, and I can see him becoming a fan favorite from day one. He’s incredibly fast, a strong defender, and covers a huge amount of ground. On top of that, Wesley has a big personality. A great example was the match against Chelsea in the Club World Cup. Despite making an unfortunate mistake, he didn’t let it shake him. In fact, he went on to effectively shut down Pedro Neto, which was no easy feat for most fullbacks in the tournament.
Gasperini developed many talented young players into stars at Atalanta, and his tactics heavily depend on strong wing back play. Do you think this is why he chose Roma?
Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Apparently, Gasperini loves him and tried to sign him at Atalanta. In fact, his move falling through was the catalyst for his change of form. Wesley knew he had to improve, and after that, he “locked in” and never looked back.
Let’s talk about his game a bit. What are his strengths? What are the areas where he needs to improve the most?
Above all, he’s a top-class defender. He rarely gets caught out at the back post, holds his own in the air, and has incredible stamina—he can run up and down the flank all game long. While his crossing can be hit or miss—sometimes quite poor—he has a real instinct for scoring, often popping up with important goals. As a wingback, I can easily see him scoring crucial goals for Roma.
Any well-known players whose skillset he compares well to?
To be honest, there’s no one quite like him right now. The closest comparison might be a quicker version of Cucurella, but more ability 1v1, less refined passing and less tactical refinement, even though he’s capable of both inverting and overlapping. All things considered, I believe he has the potential to become the best right-back in Italy by 2026/27.
Thanks again to Gab for his insights. If you’re a fan of Brazilian football, follow him on Twitter!
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