Lorenzo Pellegrini had a surprise resurgence in the Derby against Lazio, making his first start of the season and scoring the lone goal of the game. He had a troublesome summer because of a major thigh injury that required surgery. Gian Piero Gasperini had voiced his doubts about deploying him because of his poor relationship with the fan base.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the coach would like the midfielder to become more of an athlete. He filled in for Paulo Dybala, but the gaffer prefers using pure attackers in that role. The Giallorossi are currently without Leon Bailley as well.

Roma won’t renew the expiring contract of Pellegrini and shopped him around in the summer, without finding a taker. The brass is unlikely to do a 180. The veteran makes €5M plus add-ons, a lot more than most of their other players.

Gasperini will keep fielding the captain whenever he wants to, but a January exit remains likely. The player might prefer that solution over a Bosman departure. It’d allow the club to monetize a little. Napoli chased him in the last couple of windows.

Our Take on Roma and Pellegrini

Other coaches have tried, but he just doesn’t defend well enough or has the stamina to star as a box-to-box. It’s even more of a problem in a two-man midfield. Plus, they are in good shape there. They need him as a no.10 until other options return from injury. His sale is unlikely to fetch much other than the savings on his salary. Unless that’s enough to have the ammo to sign a speedster, they might as well keep him until his deal runs out.