Roma Eye Free Agents for Left Flank Strategy

Atalanta are coming fast, but at Trigoria the whiteboard isn’t closed yet. One eye is on Gasperini’s game plan, the other is still flicking through the list of free agents.

The summer window shut without delivering the left-sided player Gian Piero Gasperini had been asking for. Roma held their ground, refusing to rush into the wrong profile. Now they’re working in the shadows, ready to move only if the right opportunity drops into their lap.

The strategy is simple and ruthless: no stopgaps, no names for the sake of it. Only someone who genuinely fits what the coach wants on that flank.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, one of the names that ticks several boxes is Wilfried Zaha. The Ivorian was already close to Roma in 2023, then the move fell apart. Today he’s a free agent after his last spell away from the Premier League, which means he could arrive without a transfer fee, just as the club look for one last piece on the wing.

He is not the only file on the desk. Krépin Diatta is also under consideration, another free agent after his contract at Monaco ended. Versatile, quick, and used to working both ways down the flank, he offers a different type of solution for that side.

Then there is the most intriguing option on paper: Raphael Guerreiro. The 32-year-old Portuguese, fresh from last season at Bayern Munich, would instantly raise the technical level on the left. Comfortable as a full-back, wing-back or tucked inside, he fits the modern hybrid role Gasperini often demands from his wide players.

Roma have time, but not much. Atalanta loom, the season is already asking questions, and the club must decide whether to trust what they have—or roll the dice on a free agent who could change the geometry of Gasperini’s left flank.