Despite all the hand-wringing and mishegoss surrounding Roma’s transfer market this summer, new Sporting Director Tony D’Amico rallied late, securing six signings before the closing bell in early September. While the early returns on these half-dozen names have been a bit scattered, D’Amico addressed several key weaknesses in Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, improving depth in defense and attack, with new signings like Leonardo Balerdi and Rodrigo Mora playing pivotal parts in the club’s undefeated start
to the season.
While we wait for D’Amico to land the club’s white whale (an inverted left-winger), we’ll conduct a quick formative assessment of the club’s new signings to see how they’re settling into their new roles at the Stadio Olimpico. First up, the man with whom Gasperini is most familiar, Marten de Roon.
Key Stats & Current Role
I’ll let you in on a little trade secret: We’re starting with de Roon because he’s played the least! However, despite limited playing time (only 35 minutes in all competitions), his role under Gasperini early this season was easy to predict: he’s been a walking, talking beta-blocker, slowing down Roma’s collective heart rate in moments of stress.
If his only extended appearance this season, a 26-minute run against Torino on September 14th, is any indication, de Roon’s early days at the club will be spent pacifying the midfield. With Roma clinging to a one-nil lead and Torino slowly seizing the initiative, Gasperini made a pair of key changes in the 64th minute, swapping out Bryan Cristante and Paulo Dybala for Manu Koné and de Roon, respectively.
Occupying Dybala’s spot on the pitch, de Roon served as a stabilizing influence in the Giallorossi’s midfield, winning two of three duels, completing five defensive actions, and creating one scoring chance. It may not have been flashy, but de Roon provided a steadying presence when Roma needed it most, keeping Torino at bay and helping secure a victory.
All told, de Roon has logged 35 minutes while averaging one tackle, two interceptions 0.5 key passes per 90 minutes.
What to Expect this Season
Speaking to the BBC in 2019 on his role under Gasperini at Atalanta, de Roon found joy in the balance he provided:
“The first year I was here [under another manager], I played as a low [defensive] midfielder with two midfielders in front of me. Now we play a bit differently. We have two midfielders next to each other. I’m not the most offensive player.
“We play with high wing-backs who go forward a lot. I stay back for balance. If the opponents get the ball and try to break quickly there’s often me back there to break up the play. It can be with a foul or taking the ball or smart positioning. They love it in Italy where you recover balls”
Given their history together, we shouldn’t expect Gasperini and de Roon to mess with success this season. While de Roon’s role likely won’t change, the volume certainly will. At 35, de Roon isn’t likely to log thousands of minutes, but his function under Gasperini shouldn’t change much: he’ll still sit behind the advanced midfielders, providing cover ahead of the defense, jumping passing lanes, pressing opposing midfielders, covering for center-backs, and moving high up the pitch.
Given how well Cristante and Koné have performed early this season, de Roon should join Niccolò Pisilli as a calming force in midfield when the game is tight; a second half change of pace option Gasp can use to chase or close out matches.
We’ll sprinkle these mini reviews of Roma’s new signings over the next week, so stick with us as we check in on players like Santiago Castro and Rodrigo Mora, among others.
