Gianluca Petrachi said Roma cannot be compared to Lazio right now, but confirmed advanced negotiations for Carles Perez, Gonzalo Villar and Roger Ibanez.
The Derby della Capitale kicks off at 17.00 GMT, click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
Gianluca Petrachi said Roma cannot be compared to Lazio right now, but confirmed advanced negotiations for Carles Perez, Gonzalo Villar and Roger Ibanez.
The Derby della Capitale kicks off at 17.00 GMT, click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
“We had a new coach, who had to adapt to Italian football, many new, young players. Let’s not forget there was a lot of tension here, with fans furious and two big stars leaving,” Petrachi told Sky Sport Italia.
“It’s inevitable there would be some time to get into gear, I realise people have short memories in football, but it’s totally unfair to make comparisons to Lazio right now. They’ve been playing together for many years, are a well-drilled unit who built season by season.”
The Giallorossi are very active on the transfer market during the final days of the window, so Petrachi openly and honestly answered several questions.
He confirmed that there is a deal to bring in Carles Perez from Barcelona, but without a reported buy-back clause.
“We carry on with our philosophy of investing in promising young players. The negotiations are at an advanced stage, we have an excellent rapport with Barcelona, are talking to the lad and obviously need to convince him we have the right sporting project here for him.
“I prefer to remain cautious and not say it’s done before everything is finalised. Roma are nobody’s feeder club, so if the player comes to Roma, he will be a Roma player, there will be no right to buy him back.”
There is also reportedly a deal imminent for Elche midfielder Gonzalo Villar, although Valencia have first refusal, so also need to be consulted.
“He is the young player I was talking about a few weeks ago, a midfielder with a great deal of quality who has incredible margins of improvement, fits perfectly with Paulo Fonseca’s ideas of what a midfielder should do.
“We spoke to Valencia and Elche, they are making the final evaluations, and I hope to bring some new faces to the Capital as soon as possible.
“There’s Roger Ibanez, who didn’t play very much for Atalanta, but we believe in his capabilities and invested money in his arrival.
“We hope over the next six months he can learn the tactical movements of the coach and therefore be ready to become a key centre-back for Roma from next season.”