Gian Piero Gasperini did not hide his frustration after Roma’s 3-0 pre-season defeat to Brighton, describing the performance as “terrible” and admitting the squad still needs further reinforcement.
Speaking after the friendly, via LaRoma24, the Roma coach said the result was a clear step backwards despite a productive week of training in Wales.
“Today was undoubtedly a terrible game. We produced a very poor performance. Apart from that, we worked quite well this week because we were in a cool environment with ideal facilities. This certainly wasn’t a good match. We have difficulties, but we believe we can fix them in the coming weeks.”
Gasperini also addressed Roma’s progress in the transfer market and suggested the club is still behind where he expected it to be at this stage.
“At this point in the market, did I think we’d be further ahead? That’s true for everyone, but with different problems. Some teams can’t make moves because they have too many players. We can’t because we have too few. The market starts on July 1 and then everything gets decided in 15 days in August. Those dates are wrong.”
Asked whether Roma are stronger than last season, Gasperini was cautious.
“I don’t know. We’ve replaced Celik with Molina, who we still have to see and we’ll see him on Tuesday. We’ve replaced Dovbyk with Castro. Castro will give us a lot of satisfaction and I think it was a good operation. Then this young defender arrived and he looks interesting.”
The coach made it clear, however, that the squad remains incomplete.
“If you look at the numbers, it seems to me that we still need something. We know that. Who we go for and how we close deals will depend on the situation. There are good possibilities. D’Amico is negotiating for very young players, but also very important ones. That’s the direction.”
Gasperini also confirmed that Lorenzo Pellegrini will still need time before returning to action despite his contract renewal.
“When will he start playing? He’ll still be out for at least another month.”
Finally, the Roma coach redirected questions about possible departures and the club’s financial room for manoeuvre toward CEO John Galantic.
“Sales? I don’t know. We have a CEO and you can ask him what Roma can and cannot do. When it comes to the numbers and the possibilities in the market, the ball is in his court.”
The comments reinforce the sense that Gasperini is still waiting for the squad to be completed, with Roma’s attacking options and overall depth remaining the main concerns ahead of the new season.
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