Too early for clear definitions. Too early to project confidently. Genuinely premature to imagine today that he will become the Italy national team’s playmaker of the future — perhaps in two years at the Euros. Time is needed. But Alessandro Romano is not a surprise. At least not for everyone. At Cagliari, even his most optimistic supporter would never have imagined seeing him perform like this across his first seven appearances — five in Serie A, two in the Coppa Italia, all with a level of influence that has left the Italian football world slightly breathless.
A Player Who Has Arrived Ready
Born in 2006, Romano was launched by Roberto Donadoni and exploded under D’Angelo at La Spezia — a club whose relegation back to Serie C was the worst possible context for a talent of his level, but which provided the development conditions that Serie B and the right manager can uniquely offer. Cagliari acquired him in January for €5.9 million, the obligation to purchase activating with their first point of the new Serie A season. By that time, he was already worth considerably more.
His football intelligence, his composure in possession, his reading of the game from central midfield — these are qualities that Donadoni, a distinguished former midfielder himself, recognised immediately and built around without hesitation. The comparison with Pio Esposito at La Spezia — who similarly blossomed in the Ligurian coastal air before returning to Inter transformed — is one Pirisi makes explicitly.
Why Massara Is the Key — the Agent Connection
The structural advantage Juventus hold in the Romano pursuit is the same one that has defined several of their summer’s most important signings: the agent connection. Romano’s entourage includes a figure with close personal and professional links to Frederic Massara — the same network that allowed Massara to move decisively for several players this summer before rival clubs had the opportunity to open formal negotiations. When the Juventus Chief Football Officer has a direct and trusted channel to a player’s representation, the information flows earlier and the conversations begin at a different level of intimacy.
The chapter headings of the paywalled sections reveal two further critical dimensions. “Massara e la Juve seguono da vicino Romano” — the monitoring is close and active, not merely observational. “Nel mirino di Juve e Premier League” — Cagliari are receiving requests from English clubs as well, which is both a confirmation of Romano’s quality and a competitive warning that the window for a January approach — in the Palmisani style, buy the contract now and wait for June — may be narrower than it initially appeared.
The Çalhanoğlu Complication
The article’s secondary thread — visible from the headline — concerns Hakan Çalhanoğlu, whose exploratory sounding from Juventus was confirmed earlier in this session. The Inter Turkish captain, contracted until June 2027, represents the premium free-agent solution to the orchestrating midfielder role that Spalletti has identified as his most urgent structural need. Romano — young, Italian, developing — represents the long-term version of the same solution.
The complication Pirisi identifies is the sequencing problem: if Juventus succeed in signing Çalhanoğlu next summer, the investment in both wages and the squad list position required for the Turkish international makes a simultaneous Romano acquisition considerably more complex financially. If they cannot land Çalhanoğlu — because Inter agree a renewal or another club outbids them — Romano becomes all the more urgent. The two pursuits are not contradictory in spirit but are potentially incompatible in practice. Pirisi’s conclusion is implicit but clear: watch both files carefully. The decisions around one will determine the other.
