Four months after the last time, Lorenzo Pellegrini returned to the field. In Pisa, he was seen again in the list of those called up, while yesterday he played in the friendly match won 8-0 against Roma City. The last official appearance remains the one with Fiorentina dated May 4, not a memorable performance for the number 7 replaced by Ranieri after the first 45 minutes. Then the long ordeal post-injury and a summer spent almost as a separate entity. The contract expires in 2026 and will not be renewed, he had already been warned a few weeks before Gasperini and Massara’s public statements. West Ham, Fiorentina, and Milan are the three teams that have approached without ever making a move. The Turkish market will remain open until September 12, but Trabzonspor’s proposal was sent back. Lorenzo had been clear: ‘no’ to Arabia and Turkey. The desire has always been to remain in the main European leagues to try to convince Gattuso in these months leading up to the World Cup that must first be won by the National team. At least until January, he will be available to Gasperini who aims to recover him, also from a psychological point of view: “He, along with others, has given me incredible answers, let’s start again from everything we have.” And from Italy’s retreat came the message from his friend and teammate Gianluca Mancini: “He will give us a hand.” There is also a relationship to recover with the fans that has gradually crumbled after José Mourinho’s dismissal in January 2024. Pellegrini dreams of a new beginning with the Roma jersey and wants to leave a positive mark in what, barring sensational twists, will be his last months in the Capital. THE ROLE The first knot to untie for Gasperini is Lorenzo Pellegrini’s role. He is not to be considered a starter, but he can be a wildcard in the midfield. Yesterday against Roma City he was deployed in the two midfielders alongside Cristante. He remained on the field for an hour and at the time of the change, he stopped for a couple of minutes to listen to the coach’s instructions, who even during the match and in the cooling break had a special eye for the now former captain. Pellegrini in midfield can be a solution in case of emergency especially because Gasp does not want to hear about comfort zones for the players. But his favorite spot is the attacking midfield, precisely that area where Gasperini asked vociferously for reinforcement for an entire summer. Now he will try to carve out a space on the left where the competition is fierce. Besides Dybala, who can play on both sides, there are also El Shaarawy and Bailey on that side. The Jamaican is the number one candidate to start but must first recover from the injury and his return is set between the away game in Nice and the match against Verona. There will be time to think about the role, in the meantime, Pellegrini will use these weeks of break to recover the time lost due to injury. He missed both the retreat in Trigoria and the one in England and has to run twice as much as the others to get in shape. And the return to the field is a breath of fresh air. “I feel good,” he wrote on social media. And the first signals were positive, the assist for Soulé was of fine quality and from the game against Torino, the bar will be raised significantly.