AS Roma’s Christmas Wish List - Part 1
Roma finished last season as Inter Milan’s only title challengers and they should be looking to improve on that in order to lift the Scudetto after a 10 year barren spell.
A.C. Milan, the resurgent warriors, are sitting at the top of the table with Juventus and the dark horses of Lazio chasing the Rossoneri like a pack of hounds, things haven’t exactly gone as planned for Claudio Ranieri’s side.
There is still a long way to go and Roma are 6th in the Serie A standings. But standings don’t mean much in the Serie A table this season as just 4 points divide the 2nd placed Juventus and 6th placed Roma meaning that the
Champions League place is up for grabs and probably will be till the last day of the season. This is how close things are in the Serie A. Any team can notch the Scudetto this time.
Although, Roma’s form in Europe has been patchy, but they have somehow managed to progress to the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League and in the New Year, they will face bitter rivals Lazio in the Derby Della Capitale of the Coppa Italia.
Lupi need to make some vital adjustments in all departments to stay in contention for all tournaments. The side is currently mired in debt and there are talks of a takeover that will be completed soon. If this happens before the winter transfer window, manager
Claudio Ranieri might request for some war chest to plunge in the market and add some new faces to improve on the inconsistent side he has at his disposal.
Let’s have a look at all the positions and see if re-enforcements are required or not:
Goalkeeper
Julio Sergio has been Claudio Ranieri’s preferred number 1 and will continue to remain so by the end of this season after he worked his way to cement his stake as the first choice. No need to add a new goalie as Roma already have two more reliable shot-stoppers
as backup.
Defence
Defence is perhaps the key area where Roma, just like A.C. Milan, need to improve. Roma have a far from convincing record in defence and they have already leaked in 20 goals in 16 games which is a record that’s usually akin to teams that are lingering in
the bottom of the table. Even in the Champions League this season, they have conceded 11 times in only 6 games which might become their nemesis in the knockout phase as well.
Marco Cassetti is a steady performer at right back but at the age of 33, the Italian doesn’t have the legs and pace to make surging runs in defence and attack which is a problem for Roma when they switch on to a 4-3-1-2 formation.
Roma have constantly been linked with Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue and he would be a perfect replacement for the ageing Marco Cassetti. The adventurous and speedy right back has been out of favour at Arsenal. Bacary Sagna is a more preferred right back at Arsenal
and he also has a Belgian passport which means that he won’t be having any work-permit issues if he decides to come to Rome.
The Ivorians’ contract will end by the end of this season and Arsenal might be tempted to leave the out of favour defender in the January transfer window for some fee rather than allowing him to leave for absolutely nothing.
Roma might face some competition from Roy Hodgson of Liverpool but as the Merseyside manager will have a promised transfer kitty available to him, he might look at even better options in the transfer market.
Madjid Bougherra is also linked with a host of European clubs and the Algerian, who plays for Scottish side Rangers, might be an even better replacement for Cassetti.
The Algerian is a good reader of the game and his attacking prowess might be even more helpful for the Roma side that would welcome goals from all areas.
To be continued in Part 2...
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