AS Roma: Florent Ghisolfi wants to shop in Ligue 1

Coveted for several months by AS Roma to replace Tiago Pinto, the French sporting director, Florent Ghisolfi, was officially appointed new DS of the Giallorossi last May. The final details were agreed between all parties at the end of last season and the 3-year contract was signed two weeks ago. In order to facilitate his departure for Roma who did not need to pay compensation, he resigned from his position at Nice. The task promises to be tough since the Giallorossi aim to return to the top of Italy in the hope of participating in the Champions League, a competition in which Roma have not taken part since the 2018/2019 campaign. The last national trophy dates back to the 2008 Coppa won under the direction of Luciano Spalletti.

“AS Roma is pleased to announce that Florent Ghisolfi will join the Club as Technical Area Manager. A former professional footballer, Ghisolfi began his career as a coach in various French clubs then established himself as a manager (…). In 2022, he joined Nice as sporting director, contributing decisively to the development of the first team and its return to European football. The Club welcomes Ghisolfi to Rome and wishes him good luck in his work”, was written in the official press release published on the Roman site. As the start of the summer transfer window approaches, the French leader is already getting to work alongside his coach, the Italian Daniele De Rossi, who was reinforced on the bench after a solid end to the season by succeeding Jose Mourinho.

Three players in the sights!

The summer promises to be eventful on the banks of the Tiber. With the end of the contracts of Leonardo Spinazzola and Rui Patrício, added to the expiry of the loans of Renato Sanches, Diego Llorente, Sardar Azmoun, Romelu Lukaku, Dean Huijsen and Rasmus Kristensen, the Giallorossi indeed have their work cut out for them all posts. If some of the players mentioned above could stay in the capital, notably Llorente and Huijsen, Florent Ghisolfi has already ticked off the names of several elements likely to come and strengthen La Louve this summer. Having passed through the offices in Lens and Nice, the French manager intends to rely on his knowledge of Ligue 1 and French football. The main task will be to find Lukaku’s successor at the forefront who should therefore pack up.

According to information from La Gazzetta dello Sport, at the top of the list of favorites at the moment, there is still Arnaud Kalimuendo, the center forward at Stade Rennais. The 22-year-old called up by Thierry Henry for the Paris Olympic Games is well known to the new head of the Giallorossi technical sector. The two men had rubbed shoulders in Lens. Valued at 20 million, Eintracht Frankfurt was also on its shelves last January. To strengthen the axis, while Renato Sanches and Houssem Aouar have not given full satisfaction, especially to the Portuguese midfielder, the name of Andy Diouf from RC Lens has come up insistently recently in internal conversations. For the defense, Florent Ghisolfi is thinking of Nicolas Tagliafico. The Argentine international from OL has a contract expiring in 2025 and the price is set around 5-6 million. The Italian daily, Legoadds Bradley Locko from Stade Brestois in Ghisolfi’s plausible tracks.