Gasperini: 'New direction for Rome, need credibility and time'

“A month's work is already a lot, and if I look back, I feel like we've done a great deal,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia .

"If I look forward, we have a lot more to do, a lot more. The objective is to gain credibility, above all in the eyes of our fans, hoping to make them satisfied. We hope it will take as little as possible, but this must be an ambitious club, and I hope to prove we're on the right track.

"Of course we'd love to start winning right away, but I cannot promise that. This is why I say that the objective is to earn credibility, because if you have that, the fans will give you time. And there is never enough time."

There have already been several new investments, including Wesley, Neil El Aynaoui, Evan Ferguson and Daniele Ghilardi, but more are expected.

Defender Jan Ziorkowski is reportedly on his way from Legia Warsaw for €6m plus €1m in add-ons, while Fabio Silva from Wolverhampton Wanderers is a target for the wide attack, facing competition from Borussia Dortmund.

"We have to look at what Roma have achieved so far on the transfer market, with many new arrivals, all of them around 21-23 years old, who already have some experience. These are the profiles the club owners called me for, to work in this direction," replied Gasperini.

“It is unusual for a city and club like Roma to build from youth, but this is something we want to create going forward.”

The coach was asked if he had spoken personally to Fabio Silva, but he shrugged it off.

"I barely had time to focus on anything other than the players in my squad. There is no denying this is the most crucial phase of the transfer market. The focus in football is generally more on strikers, that has always been the case."

Sky Sport Italia calculated that the players who gave debuts to with Atalanta, Genoa and Crotone over the years ended up being paid for a profit of around €300m.

"When we spoke the first time, the project proposed to me by Roma was in this direction. That gave me great enthusiasm, I've done that in roughly all the teams I worked with. In fact, I'd suggest it was more than €300m!" joked Gasperini.

"This direction is different for Roma, but when you go for players who are the finished article, they have very different costs and ages. They can give you an immediate improvement, but not so much when discussing prospects for the future.

“I've done this many times, if I can do it at Roma too, that would be extraordinary.”

Matias Soulé and Paulo Dybala struggled to work together last season, so how do they fit into Gasperini's tactical ideas?

"Talented players can always coexist. It's true that both are left-footed, both tend to play in the same zone, but Dybala already had experience in other areas, while Soulé needs to widen his abilities and not just cut inside to shoot. He is young and needs to be more varied."

Lorenzo Pellegrini had been the Roma captain, but Gasperini changed system to give the armband to whoever has the most appearances for that club.

"In all honesty, this is a hierarchy I've always adopted. I think a team has several potential captains, all those players who are able to hold the prestigious armband. If you have more players who can do that, it's a stronger unit.

"I remember in Dublin for the Europa League Final, Toloi wasn't playing and De Roon was suspended, so they all went together to lift the trophy. That's my idea of the captaincy. If a player wore the shirt for many years, he's earned that right."

Gasperini was with Atalanta for nine years, so was asked if he expected Ademola Lookman to go on strike and try to force through a transfer to Inter?

“I can only say that I am disappointed, because we had such wonderful moments together, that we risk remembering players only for the most recent incident.

"I feel bad both for the player and the club. I hope they can resolve this situation soon."