Spalletti hints at role for Paredes

Luciano Spalletti has praised midfielder Leandro Paredes, likening him to former Giallorossi star David Pizarro.

The boss was speaking after selecting the Argentine in a holding role - a position once occupied by fellow South American Pizarro - during this morning's training match against Boston Bolts at Harvard University.

“Paredes is a very similar sort of player to Pizarro in the way he makes the team tick,” Spalletti said. “It's a great quality to have. He's a perfect fit for the deep-lying playmaker role and we need someone like that.

“Having a player who can pull the strings for you and help you keep possession is a huge bonus because all the time we have the ball we're not running around chasing after it. He's one of the best at doing that.”

What did you make of the game generally today?

"Fitness-wise our opponents were in very good shape so it was a decent workout for us. We played well at times and of course our quality shone through enabling us to finish with the scoreline we did [5-1] but we do need to increase our fitness levels.”

Were you happy with Emerson at right-back and Alessandro Florenzi on the left wing?

"Yes, they were excellent once again. If Emerson gets used to playing on that side it's an extra position for him and it works in his favour. We know what Florenzi can give us but as he joined up with us late I preferred to give him a bit more freedom without the defensive duties. Florenzi is very handy in a more advanced role anyway – he knows how to get at defenders.”

Gerson was in midfield. Is that the position he's most likely to play in?

"Yes, I think it's his best position – as a central midfielder with a licence to get forward. He prefers to play in the hole but as he's not the fastest of players he often ends up being crowded out when he sits in between the lines. He's a very intelligent player with superb technique so I think he's more comfortable playing where he did today, with a bit more space.”

How's Kevin Strootman doing after three weeks of pre-season training?

“Great! He's taking part in everything and it's important for him to be involved in every session. It might have been a bit of a risk to start again with such heavy loads but he's responded to it well. We saw what he's capable of out there today.”

With no Mohamed Salah or Diego Perotti you didn't use 4-2-4 today. Is that the formation you'll start with?

“We're playing 4-3-3 at the moment, which is a formation we used quite a lot last season. 4-3-3 can either mean two defensive midfielders and a man in the hole, or a deep-lying playmaker with a man either side. We've played with a diamond formation without Edin [Dzeko] but we want to use Edin – we want to play with a centre forward. For now those are the two systems we're using: 4-3-3 with a man in the hole or with a deep-lying playmaker.”