Monchi-ball: A look at Roma’s transfer wizard’s summer

Romas sporting director Monchi joined the club last summer with a reputation of something like a transfer wizard after more than a decade of success at Sevilla. His first season in Rome proved successful as signings like Aleksandar Kolarov and Lorenzo Pellegrini played important roles in a terrific season.

In case you missed it, Roma reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and finished third in Serie A. This summer has seen Monchi very busy with lots of ins and outs at the Trigoria training ground. High-profile players like Allison and Radja Nainggolan has left for big money and plenty of interesting players have joined. The key question is if the team is better than last season? In this tactical analysis, Ill look at the main signings and how they fit into coach Eusebio Di Francescos tactics.

Ive written extensively on Eusebio Di Francescos Roma tactics in the past but Ill revisit it in regards to how the new signings fit in.

Players out

Radja Nainggolan (€38m to Inter) and Allison (€62.5m rising to €72.5m to Liverpool) are two key players whove been sold this summer for big money. Backup goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski (Bologna, €9m) has also left as has right-back Bruno Peres (loan to Sao Paulo).

Players in

Javier Pastore

The Argentine playmaker returns to Italy after Roma paid PSG just short of €25m. Pastore left Palermo and Serie A in 2011 as one of the highly sought-after players on the continent. He returns with a reputation well below that. Still, Pastore has qualities that fit well with Italian football and will be a good option for Di Francesco.

Bryan Cristante

Cristante is perhaps the new arrival with the best chance of starting, apart from Olsen. The goalscoring midfielder was a revelation at Atalanta last season in a very specific role where his late runs into the box saw him score twelve goals in all competitions. As Ill discuss later, his profile fits perfectly with Romas style of play.

Justin Kluivert

Kluivert, son of former Milan and Barcelona striker Patrick Kluivert, has been an exciting player to follow at Ajax in the last couple of seasons. On the pitch, Kluivert has impressed from the left wing with his dribbling and acceleration as he cuts in onto his stronger right foot. Hell face strong competition from Diego Perotti and Stephan El Shaarawy as things stand, but the 19-year-old is definitely one for the future and he seems to fit in well.

Robin Olsen

Of all the new signings, Swedens number 1 goalkeeper has the most daunting task. After a strong World Cup, he joins Roma and Monchis transfer revolution as the replacement for Alisson. The Brazilian became the most expensive goalkeeper ever when he joined Liverpool last week after a stunning season in Rome. Olsen is very calm, a good shot-stopper and dominates his area well. He is, however, not anywhere near Alissons level with the ball at his feet. This can go either way.

Davide Santon

Santon looked like Javier Zanettis heir apparent when he was given his debut by José Mourinho and nullified Ballon dOr winner Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League in 2009. There and then Santon looked a fantastic prospect. Times have changed though. After a difficult time towards the end of his time at Newcastle, Santon has had some very inconsistent seasons at Inter without establishing himself as first-choice. He joins primarily as a back-up.

Ivan Marcano

After four seasons at Porto, the experienced centre-back joins Roma to provide cover for Kostas Manolas and Federico Fazio. It seems a clever signing but he wont be a regular unless something unexpected happens.

Antonio Mirante

Mirante joins from Bologna after a string of decent seasons at Renato DallAra for the Rossoblu. He replaces Skorupski as back-up but if Olsen doesnt impress then he will have a chance to take the number 1 spot. If so, he wont let anyone down as hes a very capable goalkeeper.

William Bianda

I wont act like I know much of this French 18-year-old centre-back but his €6m fee suggests Monchi has seen something special since Bianda only has five Ligue 2 appearances. He definitely seems to be one for the future.

Ante Coric

Coric has been linked to clubs all over Europe for years now and it will be intriguing to follow the 21-year-old Croatian now that hes left Balkan. Coric is a technical playmaker often playing in attacking midfield and that makes it hard to see where he fits into Di Francescos team. He could play in either of the two central midfield positions or as one of the wingers coming inside but the competition is fierce. Dont rule out a loan to a smaller Italian club before the window closes.

Monchi has also signed Inters 18-year-old attacking midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo and Palmeiras 21-year-old goalkeeper Daniel Futzato but they are unlikely to feature in the league this season.

Tactical analysis: How Monchis signings fit in tactically

This tactical analysis will look at how the new players might fit into Di Francescos tactical setup. Lets first quickly go through the style of play of the Roma coach. As mentioned earlier this tactical analysis of the Roma coach is a lot more detailed.

Rotations in attack

In possession, Di Francesco deploys multiple positional rotations between his players. Ive illustrated a few below.

The above movement is very common in Di Francescos teams. The winger moves inside, the full-backs bombs on while a central midfielder drops into the left half-space to receive.

Above we see a common rotation where the winger makes a movement towards the ball while the central midfielder attacks the empty space behind the opposition left-back.

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