Roma 0-1 Napoli: Damning stat shows why Gasperini needs Zirkzee in January

Reports in Italy continue to link Roma with a move for Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee in the January transfer window, and a damning statistic from Sunday’s 1-0 loss against Napoli in Serie A shows exactly why Gian Piero Gasperini needs new attacking reinforcements. 

Roma lost control of the Serie A table after slipping to a 1-0 defeat against the league’s reigning champions, Napoli, at home at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening. 

This result means that there are currently four teams separated by just one point at the top of the Serie A standings, which could become five points should the in-form Bologna beat newly-promoted Cremonese on Monday evening. 

Roma have been one of the surprise packages of the 2025-26 Serie A season following the appointment of Gasperini in the summer, despite the fact that the coach did not get all the attacking targets he wanted during the summer transfer window. 

If ever there was evidence that Roma need new attacking options, it was Sunday’s 1-0 defeat against Napoli: A game in which the Giallorossi registered just two shots on target across the 90 minutes, one from centre-back Gianluca Mancini and one in the dying moments from attacking midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi. 

That is despite the fact that Roma deployed three different players in a centre-forward or false nine role on Sunday, starting with Evan Ferguson, ending with Paulo Dybala and with Baldanzi having been given a go inbetween. 

After Stephan El Shaarawy replaced wing-back Wesley towards the end of the game, Roma had four attackers on the pitch and were still unable to mount any real threat on Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s goal. 

The last time that Roma registered fewer shots on target across 90 minutes was over eight months ago in an eventual 1-0 win against Cagliari under Claudio Ranieri. 

It is little surprise, therefore, to see La Gazzetta dello Sport reporting that Gasperini wants two new attacking reinforcements during the January transfer window. 

Former Bologna forward, Zirkzee, who started and scored for Manchester United in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend, has been the first-choice for several months. Monday’s reports also claim that Tottenham’s Mathijs Tel is also an option for the Giallorossi this winter.