Roma eyeing Frendrup for January as El Aynaoui set for AFCON | OneFootball

Roma has found a solid balance in midfield.

Cristante and Koné form an untouchable partnership, while El Aynaoui—after an initial adjustment period—has earned space and confidence.

As Il Messaggero reported today, however, there are still some players on the sidelines: Pisilli, who has played just 44 minutes this season, remains out of the rotation, and the club expects a change of pace.

The problem is that Roma will soon lose one of their best players: El Aynaoui will leave for the Africa Cup of Nations and risks being out for about a month. This is anything but easy, given that the Giallorossi will face Juventus, Genoa, Atalanta, Lecce, Sassuolo, and Torino twice in Serie A and the Coppa Italia.

Gasperini knows the value of each player well and knows he can’t afford to make a lot of choices in midfield. Compared to last year, Gourna-Douath and Paredes have left, while the only signing was El Aynaoui.

And January doesn’t promise much: the Friedkins want to keep the manager happy, but without any transfers, it will be difficult to pair the requested center forward (Zirkzee or Tel are the hottest names) with a new midfielder.

A candidate, however, does exist.

Gasperini has reportedly recommended Morten Frendrup to the club, a key Genoa player and a profile also popular with Inter and Napoli. Getting him away in January won’t be easy, but the name remains on the table.