Massara on Roma transfer strategy, Sancho saga and Pellegrini future | OneFootball

Roma director Frederic Massara ‘knew we wouldn’t be able to complete the process’ of building Gian Piero Gasperini’s team in one summer, while commenting on Jadon Sancho and Lorenzo Pellegrini.

They host Torino at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT) at the Stadio Olimpico.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games on the Liveblog.

Roma not quite the squad Gasperini wanted

PISA, ITALY – AUGUST 30: Gian Piero Gasperini, manager of AS Roma, gestures during the Serie A match between Pisa SC and AS Roma at Arena Garibaldi on August 30, 2025 in Pisa, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

The Giallorossi have started the campaign with two 1-0 victories over Pisa and Bologna, but surprisingly both Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson are on the bench, with Paulo Dybala getting his first start in a 3-5-2 formation.

Is this a sign of the lack of alternatives that Gasperini wanted for his trident approach?

“We knew the transfer session would be tricky, as we had some very stringent Financial Fair Play parameters to stick to,” director of sport Massara told DAZN Italia.

“Just being able to hold on to most of the squad from last season was already an achievement, we knew that we wouldn’t be able to complete the process in one session, so we’re on track.

“As the coach said, now what matters is the daily work in training. It seems premature to discuss objectives, as there is a new mentality that the coach is drilling into the team, we continue to work and then will see where we are.”

AS Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini celebrates after scoring the 1-0 goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AS Roma and SS Lazio, in Rome, Italy, 05 January 2025. EPA-EFE/ETTORE FERRARI

Pellegrini is back in the squad today, but Roma have made it clear they will not renew his contract, which expires at the end of the season. Could the former captain potentially earn a new deal with good performances?

“Football is so dynamic that situations develop rapidly. There was a shared idea with Pellegrini to evaluate other options over the summer, but now we have him as an added bonus to the squad who loves Roma and is ready to give his contribution.”

Massara was asked about some of the transfer moves that didn’t go through, such as the saga with Manchester United for Sancho, or the potential exchange between Dovbyk and Milan striker Santiago Gimenez.

“So much has been said about Sancho, he was an option that at one stage seemed rather concrete, but for one reason or another it didn’t happen. It is difficult to find a striker on the market who did better than Dovbyk last season, so we have a very full group of forwards and are confident we’ll do well.”