Jose Mourinho has admitted that he is “a bit frustrated” with Roma’s lack of activity in the summer transfer window.
Mourinho enjoyed a brilliant end to the 2021/22 season when Roma beat Feyenoord 1-0 to win the maiden Europa Conference League final in May. The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss was hoping to build on the success – Roma’s first trophy for 13 years – by making the most of the summer off-season.
That is yet to materialise in the Italian capital. Roma have signed three players so far, but only defender Zeki Çelik, who arrived from Lille, involved the payment of a transfer fee. Nemanja Matic joined up with Mourinho for a third time on a free transfer from Manchester United, while goalkeeper Mile Svilar moved from Benfica when his contract expired.
Meanwhile, Roma have lost several first team players, including Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alessandro Florenzi, Robin Olsen and Cengiz Under. There are also reports linking Roma’s Conference League final hero Nicolo Zaniolo with a move to Juventus.
Mourinho is notorious for being demanding of club chiefs in the transfer market – and it does not seem like he’s changed his ways since moving to Rome. Even while off-duty and visiting Trajan's Markets for the Phygital Sustainability Expo, where his daughter Matilde presented a sustainable jewellery collection on Monday, the Portuguese manager couldn’t help but give the Italian media a quote about transfers.
“You can see from the face that I am worried?” he told Corriere dello Sport when asked about Roma’s business dealings. "I'm a bit frustrated with the market. But don't worry, don't worry."
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Mourinho is reportedly keen on signing a new winger, with Valencia’s Gonçalo Guedes and Sassuolo‘s Domenico Berardi on his radar, while Roma are also competing to sign free agent Paulo Dybala after his Juventus contract expired.
The 59-year-old flew out to Portugal on Tuesday for Roma’s pre-season tour where they will face Sunderland on Wednesday. As well as preparing his side for the 2022/23 season, he has other worries: namely Zaniolo.
The 23-year-old attacking midfielder reportedly did not train with the rest of the squad on Tuesday, despite not being injured. Zaniolo is pushing hard for a move to Juventus, but Football Italia says Juve are unwilling to pay the £42million (€50m) asking price.
Instead the Old Lady will try to use Arthur Melo or Denis Zakaria as part of a player exchange to lower the cost. If they do sell Zaniolo then he won’t be the only outgoing player at Roma, with Justin Kluivert and Carles Perez also keen to leave. Kluivert spent last season on loan with Nice and has been linked with a £10m (€12m) move to Marseille or West Ham.
