There is a time when everything seems to predict good wind in the sails. Profession, consideration, love. For those who are always in the window, then, the sensations one experiences are probably anabolic to the maximum degree, and it is precisely for this reason that strong spirits are needed to face the sentimental altitudes that football gives. Nicolò Zaniolo, for example, is now discovering it with the amazement and melancholy of those who have known the hell of doubts without yet having landed from the purgatory of hopes to the paradise of certainties. Let’s not hide it: since, at the age of 19, Italy took the ball back with the impetus granted to unexpected loves, the Roma forward – having overcome the double knee injury – has never faced such a difficult moment. Within a few days, what was the symbol of the Giallorossi’s rebirth together with captain Pellegrini, first experienced the whistles of the Olimpico at the time of the against Bodo in the Conference League and then the bitterness of the bench for technical choice against Venice. Both events, unthinkable until a month ago. Fortunately, the forfeit with the national team due to an ailment in the calf did not have psychological repercussions, because the phone call with the coach Mancini confirmed all the esteem that the blue staff has towards him.

a lot of racing, a few goals

–

It is logical that a Roma in difficulty will not help him shine, but the hunt for the first goal in the league is an element that can affect him. The question is also tactical, and from this point of view the feeling with José Mourinho has not yet fully kicked off. Mind you, the Portuguese coach in private is full of praise for Zaniolo, so much so that – in terms of potential – he only sees him a step below people like Mbappé and Haaland, but to employ him in a job on the wing that obliges him to cover forty meters of field runs the risk of tarnishing Nicolò in the finishing and finishing phase. It is not enough. Given that it is possible the new game system seen in Venice, 3-4-1-2, may also be the case in matches, in this case the use of Nicolò would be even more problematic, it could do or the full-fledged player (with the problems we have just highlighted) or the pure attacker paired with Abraham. All the positions that the boy does not feel his own, given that he would be more comfortable in a role as a winger than a 4-3-3. The impression, however, is that it is difficult for Mourinho to change, also because – after Bodo’s 6-1 – in the locker room there are many who talk about how his management has become more severe, putting aside those jokes and those smiles that had characterized the first Roman period of the Special One. Then there is also the contract issue that does not reassure Zaniolo. It is known that the club considers him one of the top players of Roma and that the “rust” of this period is physiological and fleeting, so much so that Pinto himself predicted a future for him as a Golden Ball. Indeed, to be close to him, he was also offered the hiring of a “mental coach” who could help him in this difficult period, even if Nicolò said he did not feel the need.

renew the idea

–

However, the reasoning that the attacker carries out is not a stranger: if he is judged to be one of the most important in the squad, his salary (about 2.2 million with bonuses) is not up to the status, given that many (for example example, Abraham, Pellegrini, Smalling, Mkhitaryan, El Shaarawy and soon Mancini, who has found the agreement for the renewal) earn more than him. And then something does not add up, so much so that Claudio Vigorelli, the player’s agent, together with Pinto has long laid the foundations for the renewal, although the club would like to postpone the “non-urgent” renewals at the end of the season.

market mermaids

–

It is obvious that Zaniolo is always in tow by Italian and foreign clubs, even if the value that the company gives him – no less than 70-80 million – for the moment virtually locks him, even if he exposes him to the request for a raise (if that’s the case a lot, he should earn more). But for this very reason, the Giallorossi’s arrival in the Champions League becomes strategic if, in the summer, it is avoided that some club – especially foreign ones – does not put the striker in their sights. But since it is a scenario that no one is taking into consideration for the moment, Roma have the priority that Zaniolo return to his levels as soon as possible. Even Mancini’s national team, after all, is waiting for nothing else.