Roma’s 2025-26 Serie A season has been shaped, more than any other single tactical factor, by the persistent defensive midfield gap. The problem has been visible since the start of the season, has not been adequately addressed in the January window, and has cost results in matches that should have been comfortable.

This is the conversation that the official club communication has stayed away from but that anyone watching the team week-to-week recognises.

The shape of the problem

Roma’s preferred shape in 2025-26 has been a 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 variant depending on the opponent and the available personnel. Both shapes rely on the central midfield pair (or trio) to provide both ball-progression and defensive cover. The fullbacks operate as wingbacks with significant attacking commitment. The centre-back line plays a high enough line to compress play but is vulnerable to pace in behind when the midfield is overrun.

The defensive midfield function — protecting the centre-back line, breaking up opposition transitions, recovering the ball in central areas — has been inconsistent through the season. The players asked to do this work have ranged in availability and form, and the moments when the role has been filled adequately have been the moments when Roma has looked like a top-six Serie A side. The moments when the role has been empty have been the moments when results have slipped against teams Roma should beat.

The personnel question

The personnel available to the manager for the defensive midfield role through 2025-26 has been a mix of senior players carrying fitness questions, younger players who have grown into the role over the season, and emergency solutions when the first-choice players have been unavailable. No combination has produced the consistency the system needs.

The summer recruitment did not adequately address the position. The January window did not adequately address the position. The conversation around the position has continued at the level of “we have what we have and we will work with it,” which is not the level the position needs.

The tactical adjustments tried

The manager has experimented with several tactical adjustments to address the midfield gap. A more conservative deeper line that reduces the space behind the midfield. A back-three shape that adds an extra defender to compensate for midfield inconsistency. A more pragmatic possession approach that limits the moments when the midfield is exposed in transition.

Each of these adjustments has produced some matches with better defensive solidity at the cost of attacking output. The trade-off is recognisable to anyone following the season — Roma cannot have both the attacking output and the defensive solidity at the level the squad’s quality should suggest, because the midfield function is not adequate to support both.

The results pattern

The results pattern through 2025-26 has been telling. Matches where Roma’s quality matches or exceeds the opponent’s quality — the lower-table Serie A teams, several Europa League opponents — have produced inconsistent outcomes. Matches against the top of the Serie A table have produced results that are not as bad as the underlying performances might suggest, partly because the bigger opponents have run into similar tactical questions of their own.

The expected goals data tells a more pessimistic story than the points table. Roma’s defensive xG figures are middle-of-the-pack for the league, not top-six, which is the underlying performance level the midfield situation is producing.

The window that did not happen

The January window came and went without the central midfielder signing that the squad needed. The financial constraints, the player market, the specific profile required — each of these contributed to the outcome. The supporters’ frustration is understandable. The position needed a meaningful addition and did not get one.

The summer window will be the next opportunity. The conversation about budget, about the players who might be available, about whether the squad’s other positions need attention first — that conversation is the one the club will run through the next few months. The supporter base has reasonable expectations of a substantive midfield addition in the summer.

The historical context

Roma has cycled through several iterations of the central midfield question over the last decade. Some windows have brought genuine quality additions. Some have not. The pattern of identifying the gap, attempting to fill it, and not quite landing the right player is one of the recurring frustrations of recent Roma history.

The Daniele De Rossi era and the moments where the midfield was anchored by a player of genuine top-tier quality are the reference point that current supporters compare against. The reality is that midfielders of that profile are expensive and rare, and the alternative paths — younger players developing into the role, tactically-shaped solutions that work around the gap, complementary players who add up to something more than their parts — are the ones available to most clubs most of the time.

The 2026 outlook

The remainder of the 2025-26 season will be shaped by what Roma can achieve with the current squad and the current tactical setup. The Europa League run, the Serie A finishing position, the cup competitions — each of these will be contested with the same midfield questions present. Some matches will be won on individual quality from the attacking players. Some will be lost on the structural questions that the midfield situation creates.

The longer arc is the summer window and the squad construction for 2026-27. The supporter conversation, the journalist conversation, the dressing-room conversation — all of these point to the same need. Whether the club delivers is the question of the summer.