Lorenzo Pellegrini: I would love to captain Roma one day

The 22-year-old, in his second season back in the Giallorossi first-team after coming through the academy system, has established himself as a regular presence for the side this term - and admits he is already looking to the future with his boyhood club.

“I will never get tired of saying it: playing here, for a boy born in Rome, is something that gives me both great pride and a feeling of responsibility,” Pellegrini said.

“When you go out there on the pitch it is like you are also representing your entire family, who all grew up wearing these colours.”

Read what else Pellegrini had to say, in an interview with DAZN.

On his debut in Serie A in 2015…

“The day before the game, in our last training session, I had a really good session out on the synthetic pitch at Cesena. Rudi Garcia, who always had a close relationship with his players, told me that he was very pleased with how I was improving. The night before he passed by me and Daniele Verde’s room, and told us to make sure we were ready to play if needed. And it happened – I came on in the place of Salih Ucan.”

His relationship with Francesco Totti…

“In the beginning I was a bit worried and thought maybe it would be annoying for him to help me, I kept back a bit. But then he came to me and said, ‘Look, we need to become friends, you need to speak, to say what you are feeling – if you do that then I can try to help you in any way I can.”

His goal in the derby this season…

“Whether it is a backheel or not, the important thing is to put it in the net – and especially against Lazio. It came in a period where I was not quite playing as well as I wanted – so it was a perfect afternoon, my first derby. A special afternoon, one I won’t forget.”

On having to stop playing as a kid due to heart issues…

“I had an infection that I had not noticed that meant I started to have an irregular heartbeat – which meant I started to feel fatigue as soon as I started moving. I was calm about it though, I never really had a doubt I wouldn’t come back and play again. The original prognosis was that I would have to stop for six or seven months but after four months I already felt good – they did the tests and told me I could start playing again.”

On perhaps becoming Roma captain one day…

“One day I would love to become Roma captain, especially for what it would mean to my family too. It would be an honour to represent Rome and Roma, its fans and all my family and friends and the people I love. It would be a huge responsibility – but I like responsibility.”