We’ve been talking around the midfield problem for two seasons now. After the Bologna performance last weekend, I think we have to stop being polite about it. The midfield, as currently constructed, cannot carry this team into a Champions League qualification season.

Let me explain why with the numbers, and then talk about what the rebuild needs to look like.

The numbers don’t flatter us

Roma’s midfield this season ranks 14th in Serie A for progressive passes per 90, 11th for tackles in the middle third, and 8th for ball recoveries in advanced areas. For a club that wants to play possession-based football and press high, those are bottom-half numbers.

More damningly: when Bryan Cristante is on the pitch, our progressive carry rate from midfield drops by roughly 18% compared to when he’s off. He’s a good professional and a useful squad player, but he is no longer a starting central midfielder for a side with European ambition.

The double pivot of Cristante and Paredes worked in flashes earlier in the season but has been increasingly exposed since February. Both players are in their thirties. Both rely on positional discipline that an ageing pair can sustain for 60 minutes, not 90. Watch the second-half xG conceded numbers across our last ten games and you’ll see exactly when the press starts to break.

The profile we actually need

Looking at how the better Italian sides are constructing their midfields right now, three profiles dominate:

The ball-progressing eight who can carry through pressure. Think early-career Frattesi, current Loftus-Cheek, the role Pellegrini was built for before injuries reshaped him. Roma have one of these (Pellegrini) but he’s been managed for fitness for so long we can’t rely on him for 35 starts.

The pivot who can defend space rather than just space-and-ball. This is the gap. We don’t have a single midfielder under 28 who can cover ground laterally at top speed. Every press-resistant Italian side has at least one of these, and several have two.

The number ten who isn’t a luxury. Dybala has been brilliant this season but his minutes have to be managed and his contract situation remains unresolved. We need a younger profile who can play between the lines and contribute defensively.

Realistic targets in our budget

This is where it gets interesting because the conversation in the Italian press has been wildly disconnected from what Roma can actually afford. Let me ground this.

Souleymane Toure at Lecce has been the best deep-lying midfielder in Serie A under 25 this season. His ball-recovery numbers are elite. His passing range is limited but his positional sense is years beyond his age. Lecce will want €18-22m. Doable.

Mattia Conti at Atalanta. Won’t leave. Forget it. I include him only because half the Roma fan accounts on Twitter keep mentioning him. Atalanta would never sell to us at any price under €40m.

Andre Onyedika at Club Brugge. Has been linked. Profile fits. Belgian league inflation makes the price awkward at around €25m but he’d probably accept Roma over the alternatives. The defensive recovery numbers are exceptional.

Adrien Truffert is being mentioned as a midfield convert option. I’m sceptical. He’s a fullback. Stop.

The Pellegrini question we keep avoiding

Lorenzo Pellegrini is 30 in June. His contract runs through 2028 on wages that, for a player who has played 60% of available minutes over the last three seasons, are not defensible. Reports from Calciomercato suggest no Saudi or MLS interest at his current salary level.

I love Lorenzo. He’s been a captain through some genuinely awful years for this club and he’s never not given his maximum. But the next squad has to plan around him not being a guaranteed starter, and the rebuild has to assume his minutes will be limited.

This means we need at least two new midfielders, possibly three, with at least one being a clear starter and the others being credible rotation pieces.

The Ghisolfi factor

Florent Ghisolfi has been more active in scouting middle-tier European leagues than any Roma sporting director in recent memory, and the data suggests his model works. Looking at his Nice signings, he tended to identify players whose underlying numbers were 12-18 months ahead of their market price.

If he applies the same approach to this midfield rebuild, I’d expect at least one signing from Ligue 1 or the Eredivisie, one from a smaller Serie A side, and possibly one Bosman from a top-five league. That’s the realistic shape.

What I’d warn against: trying to solve the midfield problem with one big signing. The temptation will be there, especially if Friedkin opens the wallet for a marquee name to placate a frustrated fanbase. But the structural problems require multiple players, not one star.

The bottom line

This rebuild is the most important piece of summer 2026 work. Get it right and we have a midfield that can sustain a press across a Champions League and Serie A campaign. Get it wrong and we spend another year hoping Cristante can hold the line at 31, with the same fanbase asking the same questions in May 2027.

Ghisolfi knows this. The coaching staff know this. The question is whether the budget reflects it.

I remain cautiously optimistic. Forza Roma.