Monchi confident Marcano will make impact as he continues to eye the market

The Spaniard took a number of questions about the arrival of the experienced central defender, before answering a number of enquiries about other transfer window topics.

Read what he had to say below.

“Ivan Marcano is the first Spanish player I have signed since I became Roma’s sporting director,” Monchi began.

“I know his ability well, from the time he was playing in Spain and in the years since. He could have stayed at Porto, or gone to another side, but he chose Roma. I hope he will have a good spell here.”

What will Marcano add to the Roma defence?

“He brings years of experience at the highest level, maturity, the knowledge of what to do out on the pitch, along with technical ability and composure bringing the ball out from defence.

"There are a lot of things he can bring to the team. He completes our defence in a lot of ways.”

Was it a difficult negotiation to bring Marcano to Roma?

“No, it was not particularly difficult, he wanted to come here and that was key. It was all straightforward after the first meeting. I think the sporting project that we presented was important in his decision.”

What is the percentage chance that Alisson stays?

“He has the same chance of staying as all the other players we have not received any offers for. If one arrives, we will study it and make a decision. Today we are working out when he will return to training after his post-World Cup holiday; ready to do even better than he did last season for us.”

At the moment Roma has six centre-backs on the roster – do you need to sell?

“Maybe we have too many at the moment, but we need to wait a while and see what the coach thinks. In my head, as a former goalkeeper, the more defenders on the roster the better it is! We will see whether the coach is happy as things are, or if it is necessary to do something else.”

There have been 10 signings so far, and perhaps Rick Karsdorp could be considered the 11th. How is he?

“Fortunately he has come back in great shape physically. He really wants to play and we look forward to seeing him out on the pitch as soon as possible. He is at the same level as his teammates and so, for us, he’s an important ‘addition’. We bought him last summer with a lot of confidence in his ability. Unfortunately injuries prevented him from playing, but I think that he will take even more determination into the new season.”

Out of Ziyech and Berardi, who has a greater chance of coming to Roma?

“As I said on Saturday, we are always watching the transfer market. Roma is a big club, and big clubs always need to have an eye on the market up until it closes. We still have 40 days, so talking about Ziyech or Berardi is reductive. We are following a lot of situations. Today we have started pre-season. When you are building a side you always think you are doing well, but this is the time to understand how you can continue to improve.”

Manolas has talked about the need for hard work to catch up with Juventus. Is this the target?

“Hard work is always the most important thing, I don’t know any other way to achieve success. We have chosen a risky strategy: to build the squad as quickly as possible, to get down to work immediately. There is a gap we need to overcome to those who finished ahead of us, we have to work to close it as quickly as we can.”