José Mourinho admits Roma won’t make big investments in the January transfer window and discusses his relationship with Spezia coach Thiago Motta.
The Special One won the treble at Inter in 2010 and the former midfielder was a key part of that team.
“People think I knew Thiago Motta at Inter, but I’ve known him since we were at Barcelona,” Mourinho said at a pre-match press conference.
“Sometimes I trained the reserves team and that’s where we met. I have many memories of him. He, Stankovic and Chivu became coaches and I always want to know their results. Except for this time.”
The Giallorossi host Spezia at the Stadio Olimpico tomorrow. The Special One has little options up front as Nicolò Zaniolo, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Stephan El Shaarawy are injured.
Zaniolo would have missed the game anyway because he is suspended, the same as Gianluca Mancini.
Therefore, starting Tammy Abraham and Borja Mayoral is an option Mourinho is considering. The former Inter coach picked them on Thursday’s Conference League clash against CSKA Sofia.
“They played well and we don’t have many options, but Shomurodov and Felix can also play. It’s important to score for Tammy and Borja,” the Portuguese coach said.
“Shomurodov can be dangerous with his late runs, Borja can be a threat in the box. For Tammy, it makes no difference to play with one or the other.”
Mourinho also discussed Roma’s plans for the January transfer window, ruling out a big investment.
“I am not unhappy with our summer signings, we didn’t argue because they didn’t sign a midfielder,” he said.
“It was a reactive transfer window, so we couldn’t sign certain players. I’ve understood the difficulties, I want the best possible team, but I know we won’t make a big investment [in January] as we usually do during the summer.
“In January, we will give more balance to the team, let’s see if we can do something we have a few limits and in a normal situation the team would be more balanced, but now we have three games and we must collect as many points as possible.”