Roma, Di Francesco: "Nainggolan is a great player and we want to keep him"

Eusebio Di Francesco spoke to Sky Sport about the emotions of returning to Roma as their manager: "After being a player here, it is a great satisfaction to return. I am making my evaluations of the squad and I am trying to transmit my ideas to the players. Palotta has asked for enthusiasm and the will to be competitive to give Juventus some problems and to do better in Europe. It is difficult to take a snapshot of the difference between us and Juventus: we have to insert a lot of players and then evaluate them. At Roma, we are missing an alternative to Dzeko, two offensive wingers, a left-back and a center back."

Nainggolan's confirmation in the midfield will be fundamental has there was some joking on Instagram between him, Salah and Strootman that Nainggolan could be the next to leave. Di Francesco states that "he is a great player and we want to keep him. He has important qualities and he will be in America with us. Salah's comment? It was a little classless, as he made his choice to leave to play in England and he will be respected."

The Roma manager also commented on Totti: "When he returns, it will be an added bonus because he is so familiar with the environment at Roma."