Juan Iturbe: Another step in Roma’s growth

There are many reasons to bring a footballer to a football club, and consequently there are many expectations placed on them when they arrive. When a group of tens of thousands of fans turn out to greet them, that expectation can only be heightened.

However, it is only through the prism of those reasons and expectations that a deal can be judged as a success or a failure. The purchase of Juan Manuel Iturbe from Hellas Verona by Roma looks set to be held up in the sun by the fans, who will undoubtedly be looking for different things than the transfer could possibly reveal.

Iturbe will improve Roma’s squad, undoubtedly. There are few squads in world football to which he could go and not prove a benefit. That, of course, doesn’t mean he will start every game next season for the Giallorossi, nor should he be expected to.

The Argentine is still young, his game still raw and the flame his genius, while indisputable, has to date only flickered. It is thus safe to say, he is one for the future – the pressure on him to deliver his best will be less than on Ashley Cole.

Iturbe has joined on the back of a particularly exciting season with the Mastini, but his star is on the rise and. At only twenty-one years of age, he will be talked of in terms of potential for a little while yet.

What role should the South American youngster be expected to fulfil under Rudi Garcia? He can create chances, just like Francesco Totti, but he cannot be seen as a Totti replacement – even though the imperious talisman must surely, eventually, begin to succumb to his age. He can run with the ball and produce tricks, but equally cannot be seen as a neither a Gervinho replacement nor a carbon copy of Adem Ljajic.

Iturbe’s skill set overlaps both and more besides him. This is the nature of footballers today, as the game is far more fluid and with attacking players in particular. Nothing stands still and nobody stands still.

That fluidity is present in Garcia’s side from the midfield to the forwards. Following the injury to Kevin Strootman in the middle of the park last season, the former Lille coach turned to Rodrigo Taddei to fill that role. Because his movement was more limited, Taddei fulfilled the brief more as a standard holding midfielder and the Giallorossi’s play suffered a little as a result, at least initially. Iturbe’s flexibility further up the pitch on the other hand will ensure that Roma can continue their interchange even in extremis, such as the enforced absence of Totti and Mattia Destro that hampered them last season.

An attack boasting Destro, Totti, Gervinho, Iturbe, Ljajic and Florenzi is a frightening prospect in that the variety each forward offers means that opposition defenses can never be quite sure of what kind of attack they will face.

James Palotta’s ‘Moneyball’ ethos that govern Roma’s transfer policy as of late

The signing of Iturbe fits nicely with James Palotta’s ‘Moneyball’ ethos that informs Roma’s transfer policy; while perhaps straying a little from it in the Cole signing, the acquisition of Iturbe is entirely on point. He is young, he is expected to improve and although he didn’t come cheap at €22 million, his value can be expected to rise before he gets to the end of his current five-year contract.

Adding further options to an already exciting Roma team who finished a whopping 17 points behind Juventus last season should ensure the Giallorossi are able to close that gap a little. The turmoil in Turin following former Roma man Antonio Conte’s resignation may present a chink in the Turin giants’ seemingly impervious armor – like Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure from Manchester United.

It is also worth noting that Rudi Garcia’s side lost twice to the Bianconeri last year; even if one of those defeats came as one of Roma’s last three matches that ended in defeat, as the side slumped after having confirmed second spot in Serie A.

Iturbe guarantees nothing more than another degree of improvement and another option. The Scudetto may well be within Roma’s reach as a result, but even with Conte gone, it would take a brave man to bet against Juventus.