It's been another summer of change thus far for Roma, with former Lille boss Rudi Garcia taking the reigns to become the club's fifth manager (including caretakers) since Claudio Ranieri left the club in 2011.
The Frenchman has been busy in the transfer market already, and may not be done yet with Roma expected to receive €35m for centre-back starlet Marquinhos - making the Brazilian the most expensive teenage transfer in history. The future of captain Daniele De Rossi, as seems to be the case every summer nowadays, is once again in the balance, while club legend Francesco Totti has hinted that this will be his last season.
In turn Roma have looked to prepare for any such losses, bringing in a number of eye-catching signings already, with Morgan De Sanctis set to join them and replace the offloaded Maarten Stekelenburg in goal.
This is a team that has not only been through an overhaul in terms of personnel in recent years, but due to the number of managerial changes, one that has had to adapt a great deal to new tactics and ways of thinking.
Zdenek Zeman, the man who was hired to lead the team into Europe last season, undoubtedly brought about the most drastic of those changes, though Luis Enrique also looked to alter the footballing philosophy at the club prior to the Czech's second coming. In turn it's left the team with somewhat of a confused identity, leading to some outstanding and awful performances and results almost in equal measure.
It was something that the most recent caretaker Aurelio Andreazzoli looked to address in the latter stages of last season, and had some success in doing so. Though the Giallorossi lost the Italian's first game in charge they went on to suffer defeat just twice in their last 14 league matches. Many felt that the interim head coach was worthy of another chance to prove himself, but defeat in the Coppa Italia final against fierce rivals Lazio ensured it would be another season without European football in 2013/14.
With that in mind the club's ability to attract the sort of players that they have managed to bring into the side is some feat, and Roma look like they may well be a real force again in the upcoming campaign.
Starting in goal, with the vastly experienced Morgan De Sanctis expected to join for a nominal fee once Napoli complete the signing of Julio Cesar, Roma look certain to add more quality between the posts. It's fair to say that Stekelenburg never really convinced at the Stadio Olimpico, with the promise early on in his career never really fulfilled. Indeed, of all keepers to start at least half of their side's league matches last season the Dutchman had the second worst save success rate (62.2%), while De Sanctis was second best, only behind Gigi Buffon, with 75.4%.
In securing the services of Man City flop Maicon, who was hampered by injuries during an unproductive spell in Eastlands, it's clear that the board are looking to add even more Serie A knowhow as well as a creative outlet from the back. In the three seasons before moving to Manchester the Brazilian picked up 23 assists and of all players to make at least 50 Serie A appearances since 2009/10 only four (Cassano, Cossu, Totti and Ibrahimovic) have a better assist per game rate than the 31-year old (0.27).
With Marquinhos on his way out, Garcia secured the 19-year old's replacements before he even left the club, with Mehdi Benatia and teenage prospect Tin Jedvaj both signing - the latter having been on the verge of a move to Spurs earlier in the summer. It's Benatia that will go down as a very astute capture though, with the Moroccan serving as the most reliable Udinese defender under Francesco Guidolin.
At 26 he's coming into his prime having impressed over the past three years in Udine. His 2012/13 season was hit by injury, meaning that he started just 19 Serie A matches, but when fit he was key to Udinese's continuing overachievements. The side won 52.6% of the games he started compared to 42.1% of those he didn't and conceded, on average, 1.05 goals per game with him in the side and 1.32 without him. With an exceptional 3.5 tackles and 3.8 interceptions per game - the latter ranking second in the league - he was the third best-rated centre-back in Serie A according to WhoScored (7.46).
The capture of Dutch international Kevin Strootman from PSV Eindhoven is perhaps Roma’s most impressive and ambitious to date, however. Many were expecting the 23-year old to be playing Champions League football next season, with Manchester United heavily linked, but the midfielder was clearly convinced by Roma’s project, sealing a £16m move.
Strootman will add real solidity to the midfield, which could be construed as lining him up as a potential replacement for De Rossi or merely supplementing the Italian's energy in midfield to allow the front three to have more freedom. The young workaholic made the most tackles per game in last season's Europa League (7.7) as well as averaging the sixth most passes per game (77.3) with a superb 91.8% accuracy.
Providing De Rossi and Osvaldo stay the line-up ahead of next season, most likely in a 4-3-3 formation, looks very strong indeed. However, if Roma were to sell, with the addition of the huge fee they're set to receive for Marquinhos they would be able to reinvest and may take the necessary steps away from the old guard.
The left-back spot is perhaps an area that could be strengthened, with Federico Balzaretti past his best, and the club will look to secure more firepower as Totti's impending retirement approaches. The fact that the 36-year old is on his way out may not be a bad thing, with his influence in the Italian capital not always seen as a positive, and the new look Roma is shaping up nicely.
