Opinion: Signing Perotti has been a masterstroke

It's clear that manager Luciano Spalletti loves the versatility of the Argentine, who's capable of playing out wide, as a false nine or in the trequartista role, for he knows he gives him such great tactical flexibility to tinker with his formations.

Opting to use Perotti as his trequartista, within his 4-2-3-1 shape, Spalletti's decision to deploy him just behind Edin Dzeko worked wonders against Stefano Colantuono's struggling outfit.

Given plenty of freedom to roam across the attacking third, Perotti took full advantage of this, with his intelligent movement providing an excellent platform for many of Roma's forward forays.

He'd constantly drift out wide to the left, an area of the pitch where he was so lethal under Gian Piero Gasperini at Genoa, which successfully created space for his centre forward Dzeko to utilise, as Perotti's marker, defensive midfielder Francesco Lodi, would follow him.

Moreover, by moving out wide, this often left Lodi with a tough decision on whether to follow Perotti tightly or stay put and occupy the dangerous central space.

Courtesy of Perotti's expert ability to evade his adversary, Lodi often found himself half way in between, meaning Dzeko could still find openings, while Perotti could exploit the space out wide to drive his side forward and create an overload on the left to combine with Stephan El Shaarawy and Lucas Digne.

The technically gifted Argentine was equally effective with the ball at his feet, wreaking havoc with his creativity, skill, pace and incisive passing, all of which combined to see him provide plenty of imagination in the final third. The fact he supplied three key passes, completed four successful dribbles and was fouled four times aptly illustrated this.

Meanwhile, his tireless work-rate extended over to his defensive contribution too. He tracked back diligently, snapped into his tackles and did a great job of limiting Lodi's influence by marking him closely, in what was a fine all-round performance from Perotti.

It's little wonder the man who's already scored two goals and provided four assists is thoroughly enjoying life at his new club, where he's thrived playing under a manager who believes in him and who knows how to get the best out of him.

“For a player like me, who likes to go forward, having a coach like Spalletti makes everything easier, and I have some very good teammates," explained Perotti. “I’ve joined a team with top-level players, that makes it easier.”

Roma have now won a remarkable eight straight Serie A games and Spalletti's side have won every league match that the 27-year-old's featured in.

Signing Perotti has undoubtedly been a masterstroke by the Giallorossi, as he's been an integral component in their push for Champions League qualification and unquestionably given them another dimension in attack.

With Inter Milan up next, you can rest assured Perotti will be doing everything in his power, both on and off the ball, to get his team over the line and ensure Roma are one step closer to securing that coveted third position.

His mentality, quality and work-rate will see to it.