Opinion: Why this is the strongest Roma squad in years

If you watched Roma play against Porto – in one of the most important games of the season, but with a backline disrupted by injury – you could have failed to see how tenacious and hardworking the players on the pitch were.

The result was a very respectable draw complete with an away goal that demonstrates an emerging truth: piece by piece, player by player, Roma’s transfer committee has built the deepest squad that the club has had in years.

This is perhaps most evident in the attack, where reinforcements joined in January to supplement an already burgeoning artillery of strikers, wingers and creative players.

Out wide? Juan Iturbe’s return from loan gives the side more options behind Mohamed Salah and Stephan El Shaarawy - both of whom had fine, fine seasons last year.

In between the two wide players can rotate one of three very different options. Need a focal point? Enter a traditional No. 9: Edin Dzeko.

Looking for a bit more guile to throw off opposition’s marking? Diego Perotti’s sheer technicality and use of space is your man.

How about one of the most potent free-kick takers and assist deliverers of all time? Francesco Totti has much left to give in his boots.

Zoom out slightly more and there’s a midfield brimming with talent and options. Pick three from Radja Nainggolan, Kevin Strootman, Daniele De Rossi, and Leandro Paredes for a more traditional midfield trio.

Or switch up the shape of the side; how about a Strootman-Nainggolan pivot, where one stays firm and the other makes late runs to the box?

Or a Paredes-De Rossi tandem to dictate play when keeping possession is the key?

Luciano Spalletti can construct the midfield he needs to suit the team, account for injuries and maximise each player’s form and positioning.

A large part of that is due to the most recent acquisition, Bruno Peres.

Not only did Sabatini snatch one of the league’s finest full-backs for a bargain of a deal, but Roma now can play Alessandro Florenzi is his more natural role in the midfield, where he blossomed early in his career before gradually shifting back to cover for injuries under Rudi Garcia.

Oh, and don’t forget Gerson, who has much promise and potential that Spalletti will love to polish.

And yet, staggeringly, it’s at the back where Roma have a level of depth the side has not seen in quite some time.

Goalkeeping a priority area to address? Spalletti signed the starting goalkeeper from Brazil (Alisson) permanently and brought back last season’s starter (Wojciech Szczesny) to battle it out for the starting job.

It’s a shame that Mario Rui is injured but when he returns the side’s left flank will be tenaciously protected. For the time being Emerson can play there, while Juan Jesus can do a formidable job both out wide and in the centre.

It’s in the middle that Roma can now boast an incredibly experienced group of centre-backs. Kostas Manolas is the undisputed stalwart of Roma’s defence and he’s now surrounded by Sevilla’s once-captain in Federico Fazio and a Premier League and Belgian mainstay in Thomas Vermaelen. Once Antonio Rudiger returns, Roma will have quite the selection of defenders from which to choose.

Consider that Roma’s starting eleven could consist of this one match:

Alisson; Juan Jesus, Manolas, Vermaelen, Bruno Peres; De Rossi, Strootman, Nainggolan; Salah, Perotti; Dzeko.

And the following match, the side could rotate every player and start:

Szczesny; Rui, Rudiger, Fazio, Florenzi; Paredes, Gerson, Emerson; El Shaarawy, Totti, Iturbe.

Or anything in between, chopping and sliding players as form, injury, and match requires.

Roma and Spalletti have a deep, talented, and experienced roster of players to pull from this season, with nearly every position two players deep.

And that has to give all Roma fans hope going into the first Serie A match of the season.