With less than a month before the new season begins, Roma’s attack is, well, not exactly taking shape, but starting to gain clarity. While we wait for Santiago Castro’s €35 million move to the club to be made official, Tony D’Amico and Gian Piero Gasperini continue to work the phones to broaden Roma’s options in attack. Antonio Nusa remains the top option for the left flank, but, to date, RB Leipzig have been unwilling to lower their ludicrous €60 million demands.
However, if we consider the Castro
signing and today’s rumored pursuit of Endrick, Real Madrid’s prized 20-year-old asset, the club may be taking a slightly different track as it rounds out the squad. Rather than making a substantial investment in a left winger, D’Amico may be doubling down in other areas, potentially signaling a change in tactical approach this season.
With Castro and Donyell Malen penciled in as the strikers, whether it’s a 1a/1b setup or a shift to a two-striker system, Endrick brings a bit more positional versatility than Castro. When combined with Malen, Paulo Dybala, and Matías Soulé, Gasperini has a handful of players he can mix and match, shifting seamlessly between a 3-4-1-2 and a 3-4-2-1 as opponents and game states dictate.
This approach would give Gasperini two players (Malen and Castro) who can play as lone or second strikers, and two players (Soulé and Endrick) who can play on the right, with Dybala (or Soulé) sitting in the hole. It wouldn’t directly address the left-wing position, though Malen can play there in a pinch. It would give Gasperini the tools he needs to create matchup problems for opponents, effectively compensating for Roma’s lack of a left winger with a bevy of attacking midfielders and mobile strikers.
But there’s still the minor matter of hammering out a deal for Endrick. According to Lorenzo Canicchio of the Gazzetta Regionale, the two clubs are working on a loan deal with a €45 million option to buy, not to mention a healthy sell-on fee for Real.
So, if sixty-million-euro Norwegian wingers aren’t your thing and you dig so-called positionless attackers, adding Endrick to the Malen-Dybala-Castro-Soulé soup is an enticing proposition.
