Roma Target Endrick and Mora in Bold Gasperini Rebuild

AS Roma are pursuing two of European football’s most coveted young attackers in the same window, with reports indicating direct talks with Endrick’s representatives at Real Madrid alongside preparation of a €45 million offer for Porto’s teenage sensation Rodrigo Mora.

According to reports, the Giallorossi have opened dialogue over a possible move for the Brazilian forward, while a separate report from the same outlet suggests Roma are readying a formal proposal for the Portuguese winger.

Neither pursuit has yet crystallised into an agreed transfer, and the two situations differ significantly in structure – one reportedly built around a loan-plus-option framework, the other a straight cash bid. But taken together, they paint a picture of a club stepping decisively beyond the cautious, FFP-conscious mercato that has defined much of the Friedkin ownership era.

The timing matters. Roma head into this window off the back of a return to the Champions League, and the appointment of Gian Piero Gasperini has come with an explicit brief: retain the core of the squad and add three or four difference-makers, including at least one attacking wide player. Chasing Endrick and Mora simultaneously is, at minimum, evidence that the club is thinking in those terms.

Endrick & the Profile That Has Roma Convinced

Endrick arrived at Real Madrid from Palmeiras as one of Brazilian football’s most hyped prospects, and he has already collected silverware at the Club World Cup and European Super Cup during his time at the Bernabéu.

Yet first-team minutes have been scarce behind Madrid’s deep and rotating attacking options, and reports suggest the club could be open to a loan that includes a buy-back mechanism – a structure Madrid have used before with young talents such as Nico Paz.

Our earlier coverage of the Endrick situation detailed how Roma’s sporting director travelled to Madrid to gauge the feasibility of exactly this kind of arrangement. The logic is straightforward: a player still developing his profile needs a platform, and a club rebuilding its attacking identity under Gasperini needs a mobile, direct forward capable of running the channels and finishing chances created in transition.

Roma’s interest is not framed as biography or reputation alone. It reflects a structural need up front, where the club has lacked a genuine box presence to complement wide creativity, and Endrick’s age and contractual flexibility with Madrid make him a fit that other, more expensive strikers simply do not offer.

Whether Madrid ultimately sanctions a departure – permanent or temporary – remains the central question.

Rodrigo Mora & the Young Attacker Behind the €45m Bid

Rodrigo Mora’s rise at Porto has been rapid even by the standards of Portuguese football’s production line. At 19 years old and wearing the number 86 shirt, the attacking midfielder has moved from Porto’s B side into the first team and into the conversation among Europe’s most sought-after teenage talents, with a contract at the Estádio do Dragão running through 2030.

Mora’s release clause has been reported in the region of €70-80 million, with suggestions it could climb further as his profile continues to rise – a figure that has not deterred interest from PSG, Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle, among others.

Earlier bids in the region of €50 million, including reported interest from Al Ittihad, are understood to have been rejected outright by Porto.

Against that backdrop, a €45 million proposal from Roma would represent a serious opening move rather than a knockout bid, and it underlines just how aggressively the Giallorossi are prepared to compete for a player still two years from his 21st birthday.

Technically, Mora offers exactly the kind of dribbling, close control and end product that Roma have lacked in wide areas, with genuine resale value attached given the scale of the clubs already circling.

Roma’s Double Pursuit & the Ambition Behind It

What makes the Endrick and Mora stories worth reading together, rather than as two isolated rumours, is what they say about Roma’s broader recruitment philosophy under Gasperini. This is not a club chasing volume in the transfer market; it is a club chasing profile – young, technically gifted attackers with sell-on value, entering their peak development years rather than their peak output years.

That approach has already been visible elsewhere this summer. Roma’s move for Feyenoord’s Givairo Read follows the same pattern – a young, high-ceiling talent identified early rather than pursued once his value has fully matured. Endrick and Mora simply represent the same logic applied at a significantly higher price point.

The structural appeal is obvious: land two attacking talents capable of playing multiple roles across Gasperini’s frontline, and Roma solve both an immediate squad need and a long-term asset-building strategy in one window. The risk is equally obvious – two expensive, competing pursuits stretching a budget that UEFA’s settlement agreement has kept under close supervision.

The Valuation Question & What Roma Must Resolve

The financial architecture behind both deals remains the sticking point. Roma’s prepared €45 million offer for Mora sits well below Porto’s reported release-clause range, meaning any deal would likely require the Portuguese club’s willingness to negotiate rather than simply trigger a clause – a scenario Porto have shown little appetite for so far given rejected bids already on record.

Endrick’s situation carries a different set of variables, with Madrid’s insistence on a buy-back option likely to shape any loan structure and determine how much control Roma would actually retain over the player’s long-term future.

Roma’s recent willingness to commit significant funds for a young attacker – evidenced by the reported €46 million approach for Crysencio Summerville – suggests the financial appetite exists, but running two premium pursuits in parallel inevitably raises questions about where resources are ultimately directed.

Reports also point to at least one significant departure, with Matías Soulé repeatedly mentioned, as a likely prerequisite for unlocking Roma’s full spending power under UEFA’s oversight. Until that sale materialises, both the Endrick and Mora pursuits remain constrained by the same underlying financial ceiling.

How realistic is an Endrick transfer to Roma?

For Endrick, the next step is turning informal talks with his representatives into a concrete structural proposal that satisfies Madrid’s conditions on any potential buy-back. For Mora, Roma must decide whether to formalise their reported €45 million offer as an actual bid to Porto, and whether that figure can realistically compete with growing Premier League interest.

Both situations are expected to sharpen as the summer progresses, with an outgoing sale likely needed before either deal can be completed in full. The offer has been prepared. The talks have begun. Whether either pursuit becomes a completed transfer will say a great deal about how far Roma’s new ambition under Gasperini truly extends.