Roma Targets Martinelli as Key Forward for Gasperini

Roma’s summer has a clear obsession: give Gian Piero Gasperini the wide forward he needs to make his system bite.

Not just any winger. A right-footer who can attack from the left with fury, press relentlessly, and cut inside to finish. It’s a role that has underpinned Gasperini’s best sides, and the club’s recruitment drive has been shaped almost entirely around it.

For weeks, the shortlist glittered.
Mason Greenwood. Antonio Nusa. Alejandro Garnacho.

Each name carried weight, each link generated noise. Roma held talks at different levels, tested the waters, explored conditions. Yet every path has stalled before the finish line. No agreement, no breakthrough, no new left-sided spearhead for the 2026-27 project.

So the search has shifted. Not down in ambition, just sideways in direction.

Martinelli emerges from Arsenal’s shadows

According to Corriere dello Sport, sporting director Tony D’Amico has now zeroed in on Gabriel Martinelli as a serious alternative.

On paper, the fit is obvious.
On the market, the situation is delicate.

The 25-year-old Brazilian finds himself in an uneasy limbo at Arsenal as the new season looms. He is entering the final year of his contract at The Emirates, yet there has been little sign in public that a renewal is close. For a player once seen as a cornerstone of the club’s future, the silence is loud.

Then came Christos Tzolis.

The Greek international’s arrival has complicated Martinelli’s place in Mikel Arteta’s plans. With another option added to the attacking line, Martinelli appears to have slipped down the hierarchy, his route back to an undisputed starting role increasingly blocked. From Roma’s point of view, that’s an opening. From Arsenal’s, it’s a potential asset they will not want to lose cheaply.

D’Amico is working in that grey area. He knows what Martinelli brings: direct running from the left, the ability to drive inside on his stronger right foot, and a penalty-box instinct that matches precisely what Gasperini demands from his wide forwards. It is the sort of profile Roma have been chasing all summer, but this time with a player already proven at the highest level.

The price of ambition

Excitement, though, does not pay transfer fees.

Corriere dello Sport reports that Arsenal have no intention of treating Martinelli as a bargain, even with his contract ticking down. The estimated price sits in the €40–45 million range, a figure that instantly stretches Roma’s margin for manoeuvre.

And that is only half the equation.
Personal terms will be another test.

Martinelli’s salary expectations are likely to push the boundaries of Roma’s wage structure. To bring in a player from a Premier League giant, in his prime years, with multiple suitors, the Giallorossi would have to make a financial statement that ripples through the rest of the dressing room.

So the club are walking a tightrope: the right player, at the right time tactically, but potentially at the wrong cost.

Mora, the parallel track

Roma cannot afford to bet everything on a single deal. Not with Gasperini’s system so dependent on that left-sided weapon.

That is why another name has moved into sharper focus: Rodrigo Mora of Porto.

Reports over the weekend suggest Roma are prepared to move decisively for the Portuguese club’s rising star, exploring an outright purchase. Mora is younger, less established, and likely more affordable, yet still fits the technical and physical profile Gasperini has requested.

He may not arrive with the same instant impact guarantees as Martinelli, but he offers upside, resale value, and the kind of raw tools a coach like Gasperini relishes shaping.

Roma are effectively running two races at once: the marquee signing who can change the attack overnight, and the emerging talent who could grow into the role.

Galatasaray enter the frame

Complicating everything is the fact that Roma are not alone in circling Martinelli.

Interest has emerged from the Turkish Super Lig, with Galatasaray moving from curiosity to concrete action. Reports indicate the reigning Turkish champions have already tabled a bid of around £34 million for the Brazilian.

That figure underlines Martinelli’s market value, even after a period in which his goalscoring numbers have dipped. Clubs still see a winger with pace, aggression, and end-product potential, and they are prepared to pay accordingly.

For Roma, Galatasaray’s move does two things: it sets a reference point for Arsenal’s demands and it ramps up the pressure. Wait too long, and the player may be gone. Move too quickly, and the financial risk grows.

This is the reality of Roma’s summer: a tactical idea driving the market strategy, a coach waiting for his key attacking piece, and a club trying to thread the needle between ambition and sustainability.

Whether that solution wears the yellow and red of Brazil or the blue and white of Porto could go a long way to defining how dangerous Gasperini’s Roma look when the new season kicks off.