- Mourinho unhappy with lack of signings
- Roma only signed players on loan or for free
- Yet to sign a backup for striker Abraham
WHAT HAPPENED? Roma have signed centre-back Evan Ndicka and midfielder Houssem Aouar on free transfers and right-back Rasmus Kristensen has joined on loan from Leeds United. However, the Serie A side are yet to recruit a player for a fee this summer. Mourinho and his staff were seen embracing an invisible player at a pre-season training camp in Portugal a week ago after the Italian team failed to sign a striker to cover the injured Tammy Abraham - who has been ruled out of action with an anterior cruciate ligament problem.
WHAT THEY SAID: The former Chelsea manager told Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport when quizzed about the Instagram post: "There was no provocation, that wasn't the intention. Everything is not okay but... I get angry for an hour and then I'm back to being positive about things. Regarding the imaginary striker, I can tell you that even if [Kylian] Mbappe arrives next week, it would still be late.
"After Tammy's injury we are in a situation that no coach in the world would like to be in. It is impossible for me to say that I am happy. But to say that I am in open war with the club is very wrong.
"Tammy was injured on June 5 - we are talking about 63, 64 days [ago]. For me there is a name, there is one, because I am usually very objective and pragmatic, but it is not possible to get him - this is what I was told."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Roma, who lost in the final of the Europa League to Sevilla in May and came sixth in the Italian top-flight last term, have been linked with Spain striker Alvaro Morata and Italy forward Gianluca Scamacca but neither player has joined the club. If Mourinho's team fail to strengthen soon, they may struggle this season.
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? Roma round off their pre-season campaign against Albanian side Partizani on Saturday before kickstarting their Serie A season against Salernitana on August 20.