De Rossi gives new Roma striker Dovbyk same instructions as former loanee Lukaku | OneFootball

Daniele De Rossi has explained that not too much has changed in his tactical set-up after replacing 2023-24 loanee Romelu Lukaku with new signing Artem Dovbyk, who arrived on a permanent transfer from Girona earlier in the summer.

The Giallorossi coach said that he and his coaching staff had given plenty of instructions to their new signings at first, but as time moves on, they are willing to give them more creative freedom on the pitch.

And, compared to the set-up with Lukaku as the starting striker, De Rossi feels that he has barely had to adjust his approach now that Dovbyk is leading the line.

What De Rossi said about new Roma striker Dovbyk

“The orders are more or less the same,” De Rossi said during his pre-match press conference on Saturday.

Assessing his new striker, Dobvyk, De Rossi added: “He’s a great finisher, he knows how to link up with his teammate and tactically speaking, he’s very clean.”

Dovbyk joined Roma after an impressive season with Girona in LaLiga, where he finished the 2023-24 campaign as the division’s highest goalscorer with 24.

“Initially my staff and I gave the new signings a lot of instructions, and then we decided to leave the players with more freedom.”

De Rossi was speaking ahead of Roma’s trip to Cagliari for their first Serie A match of the 2024-25 season. Kick-off in that game is due at 19.45 BST on Sunday evening.

Click here to read more from De Rossi’s pre-Cagliari press conference