Luciano Spalletti described Roma's transfer strategy exhaustively, covering every player the club is interested in.
On from his comments about Miralem Pjanic and Radja Nainggolan, the Giallorossi Coach had something to say about many potential targets, providing one brief comment about all of them.
Luciano Spalletti described Roma's transfer strategy exhaustively, covering every player the club is interested in.
On from his comments about Miralem Pjanic and Radja Nainggolan, the Giallorossi Coach had something to say about many potential targets, providing one brief comment about all of them.
“Sabatini is monitoring [Real Madrid's] Nacho,” Spalletti told La Gazzetta dello Sport concisely, before discussing Mateo Kovacic: “I consider him exceptional. He's perfect to play with the ball on the ground.
“Borja Valero is a fantastic player that everyone would like to have. But he is too tightly bonded to Florence, so it's not a doable operation.”
The Coach was then asked about Francesco Totti, who recently signed a contract to spend another year with Roma.
“I didn't take part in that negotiation. I'm transitioning with Roma but Francesco is part of their history and that of their city.
“As for his effort, we saw clearly in the last part of the championship that we should be working for the good of Totti and that of the team.
“The new stadium? Having that would be like signing the new Totti.”
After speaking about Totti, the Coach returned to answering quick-fire questions about Roma's transfer targets.
“Mario Rui is a player with personality. He doesn't have a great structure but I consider him a starter.
“[Lucas] Digne's situation is still developing. [Leandro] Paredes could become an important pawn to be used in front of the defence.
“Pjanic's place will be taken by [Kevin] Strootman. It's going to be an important return.
“[Adem] Ljajic? We'll see how the market evolves. That's true for Ljajic and for [Antonio] Sanabria.
“Sabatini did well in moving before anyone for Alisson, but if Arsenal lets us keep [Wojciech] Szczesny, I'll be happy to have such abundance.
“[Edin] Dzeko needs to feel the trust of the Coach. Next year he'll have mine at 100 per cent.
“[Daniele] De Rossi? I want to see him all the time with the level of determination he's showing at the Euros. The favourites for that tournament are still Germany, but Croatia are a fantastic team, and be careful about Italy.”
Finally, Spalletti closed his interview on the subject of his contract, the Olympics and the new Chinese investors.
“My contract expires in June 2017 and for the moment I don't intend to renew it. In the future, I'm always going to sign one-year-long contracts. You can't allow yourself to settle, and you should always have strong incentives.
“Besides, the club should be free to kill you off at the end of the season.
“I'm in favour of having the 2024 Olympics in Rome, and everyone who loves sport should be, whether they're Roman or not.
“The coming of Chinese investors in Italian football is great news. We need people that will help develop our movement by bringing in new resources.”