AS Roma set to lose their identity with summer transfer dealings

Nainggolan to seal Chelsea move

It has been a pretty turbulent season for AS Roma fans who were taken on a trip through despair to euphoria with their team this season.

As one of the most prominent Italian football clubs, which is currently taking part in 83 seasons, AS Roma are sitting on the crossroads.

With the efforts to build the new stadium rescheduled from 2016 to 2018, the current year was supposed to be the beginning of the new chapter in club’s history aiming to bring Giallorossi back on the path of glory.

Instead, the 2015-16 season brought disappointment as the team once again failed to win domestic silverware. With Juventus having been crowned Italian champions for the fifth time in a row last week, AS Roma will be forced to wait at least one more year to lift the trophy they are waiting for since 2000-01.

And judging by the dealings involving transfer moves that are already in place, AS Roma fans will be in for some frustrating months that lie ahead of them.

Promising start

Rudi Garcia was initially praised for his tactical approach, which got AS Roma playing attractive, attack-oriented football boasting flair and buoyance in their overall attractive performances in the league.

The French tactician got lost somewhere along the way as Giallorossi lost the momentum to fall behind in the title race behind Napoli and Juventus, failing to recover in time, with resulted in Garcia being sacked from the helm.

Luciano Spalletti did well to restore pride and honour and get his team back on their feet.

Without a loss since January and their derby defeat to Juventus, Spalletti’s AS Roma picked up their form, came back into the fight for the very top and are currently with plenty of chances to beat Napoli to the second place in the Serie A standings.

With three games remaining, Giallorossi enter the photo finish with a trip to Genoa on Monday. AS Roma are standing at 4/6 to claim the maximum three points in the next round of Serie A.

Totti trouble

Despite his commendable tactics, Luciano Spalletti’s decision to leave the club’s legend Francesco Totti out of the first-team was met with an uproar with the fans and media alike.

The general public was disappointed to see the legend fringed, as it was believed that Francesco Totti still has plenty to offer even at 39 years of age. Spalletti’s results made plenty of ground to support his decision, but physical and verbal confrontations with the club’s captain have done nothing good to the club’s image.

In a dramatic turn of events, Francesco Totti sent his own message through sublime four-minute display against Torino, when club’s captain scored a brace to seal Roma’s dramatic come-from-behind win which saw the 39-year-old stake his claim for a new contract.

Spalletti is against it, the manager still believes Totti has nothing to offer on the long run and the Italian legend is likely to leave the club at the end of the season.

New York Cosmos have confirmed their interest for the 39-year-old through their coach Giovanni Savarese, in hopes to bring Roma legend to the United States in the summer.

Should Francesco Totti leave his beloved club it will be a disappointing ending to the King’s reign, who will be stepping from his throne with his head bowed down to the ground.

Summer makeover

Francesco Totti’s departure is likely to spark an avalanche that will see AS Roma lose much of their first-team stars during the summer transfer market.

Radja Naiggolan is the first in line as AS Roma midfielder is understood to have agreed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge after the clubs settled on a £28 million fee. The Belgian enforcer will join Antonio Conte, who is coming to Chelsea after the 2016 European Championship finals, despite having previously claimed that he would not consider leaving Roma in the foreseeable future.

Tenacious midfielder will be sorely missed in the centre of the park next season as this imposing figure is more than just an unorthodox hairstyle and excessive tattoos. AS Roma will rue lacking his aggressiveness, tackling ability and, passing accuracy of more than 80% and a good touch which sees him rarely surrendering possession of the ball.

In addition to Radja Naiggolan, AS Roma are likely to lose Edin Dzeko, Lucas Digne, Wjciech Szczesny and William Vainqueur, while Giallorossi will also struggle to keep their prized possessions Miralem Pjanic and Kostas Manolas past the summer as well.

The summer of tough choices and big decisions is upon AS Roma, who will need to find adequate replacements in order to keep the quality high and their fans upbeat about the club’s chances to finaly challenge for Scudetto next year.