Torino and Roma

This week I'm going to cover two teams specifically. They've moved quite a lot in the transfer market with their incomings, and they're somewhat ambitious when it comes to expectations at the start of the season – or at least their fanbases are.

Torino: Working With What They Have

Torino, as every other summer, sold the players they could, with Ricci being the most notable one. I've already covered that Torino moved for Anjorin, and I liked the move for the team. In the couple of games so far, Baroni has also put his faith in Ilkhan to play in front of the defense in midfield – he seems one to watch, even though they should finalize a loan move for Asllani from Inter.

Goalkeeper replacement and defensive reinforcement

They got Franco Israel from Sporting Lisbon to replace Milinković-Savić as goalkeeper, paying around €5 million. This seems quite good if he can keep these numbers for them, given he improved from the season before and he's born in 2000.

Torino also brought in Ardian Ismajli from Empoli to reinforce their defense, but he's injured and his numbers at Empoli were not really good for a peak-age player.

Attacking Overhaul

They then focused heavily on the attacking side of the team, bringing in:

• Ngonge and Simeone – both on loans plus option or obligation to buy from Napoli

• Aboukhal from Toulouse for €8 million

Simeone was a shooting machine in 2023/24 for Napoli, and not much else. Meanwhile, Ngonge was quite interesting at Verona in 2023/24 before going to Napoli, so I'm quite excited to see him at Torino.

Aboukhal seems a very strange profile for an attacking midfielder/winger, as he mostly shoots and does little else. Simeone is 30 years old, so I wouldn't bet on him for the future given Torino's options in the striker position also include Che Adams and Duván Zapata.

I like Ngonge for them, a little less Aboukhal, but he seems the kind of player Torino could work on so that his weaknesses become less relevant and he could increase in value now that he's at the start of his peak age.

Roma: Big Ambitions, Calculated Risks

It's no secret that Roma has been trying to qualify for the Champions League for years now. This year they've put their chips on Gasperini + Ghisolfi, and we see a transfer market focused on somewhat young players who can have upside if Gasperini is willing to improve them like he did with many others in Bergamo.

Roma has signed 6 new players so far while offloading many players for very low amounts. Roma is notoriously one of the most indebted clubs in Italy, so the need to focus on player trading from their part is clear. Indeed, the oldest players from the list are Leon Bailey (1997) and reserve goalkeeper Devis Vázquez (1998). Then there's El Aynaoui (2001), Wesley and Ghilardi (2003), and Evan Ferguson (2004).

Let's be clear: each one of these players makes sense for Roma and will probably have an impact on team performance all season long, but there are some caveats.

The New Arrivals

Vázquez is not really a transfer to judge as he came on a free and is a reserve.

Ghilardi showed a really promising skill set and numbers at Verona, so he's good given the total between loan and option to make it permanent should be around €10 million and he’s young.

Wesley seemed like a really good right wingback at Flamengo, and I expect him to keep these promises, though he was paid €25 million. He needs to keep the numbers up to see his value rise, but he's young and in the current Brasileirão his numbers were already improving from the 2024 tournament.

El Aynaoui probably needs to improve his ability with the ball to be considered a worthy acquisition at €25 million. Plus, he's been hit with injuries last season, missing around 100 days total. Last season he increased the amount of defensive actions sensibly but worsened by a similar amount the value conceded to opponents in his area – not good. Indeed, this one makes me dubious at that amount.

The Injury-Prone Gambles

Then there are Ferguson and Bailey – another two players with extensive injury problems that are worrying. Ferguson should cost around €40 million if the loan becomes permanent, and Bailey (already injured) will cost €25. If they stay healthy all season, I don't doubt they will give Roma very good output.

Ferguson was really impressive in his first two seasons at Brighton, but his second one was cut short by a cruciate ligament injury, and last season was not exactly successful. Bailey would probably have an impact for every team in Serie A if healthy.

The Verdict

Roma and Torino, with different kinds of money and power of attraction, have to be creative and take gambles to achieve what they want given the situations they're in. Torino has moved okay so far – they should really do something else for their defense – while Roma I think did much better but is taking on bigger risks with very injury-prone players.