Ghilardi given a big opportunity for Roma by Gasperini

Daniele Ghilardi is finally given an opportunity to start in the Europa League as part of Roma’s back three against Midtjylland, Gian Piero Gasperini’s response to transfer gossip.

You can follow all the action as it happens from that game on the Liveblog.

The centre-back was a strong investment over the summer, as they secured him on loan with an obligation to buy from Hellas Verona.

So far, he has been given only two substitute appearances for a total of six minutes on the pitch in Serie A, but he is thrown into the starting XI in the Europa League this evening.

There had been reports that the defender was looking towards a potential January loan move to get more playing time, and anything could still happen, but no decision has been made yet.

It is worth remembering that Ghilardi is a young player, who was a protagonist at Verona, but the movements at Roma are so well-drilled that there isn’t much room for experimentation.

They are top of the Serie A table and conceded only six goals in this competition.

So Gasperini is not ready to dump Ghilardi, and is giving him an opportunity in a monumental Europa League match.