Roma coach Jose Mourinho has dismissed concerns over Nicolo Zaniolo after comments made by sporting director Tiago Pinto.

Pinto has suggested that there are no guarantees that the player will stay in Rome.

Mourinho said, “The director’s words are normal. It’s difficult for Tiago Pinto, who is honest and straightforward and doesn’t hide or sell smoke, to say that a player will be here 100% next season. We need maturity, a key word in our Roma project. I think it’s an important word for you too.

“We as a club are showing maturity, even if for some it’s not true, the project and the way I and the director communicate show maturity and the way our fans accept and behave shows maturity. Maturity is also needed on your part.

“Tiago’s response was taken out of context, there is a need not to turn an honest sentence into something that wasn’t enough to be in the headlines for a week. I am happy with this market. If you ask me if I prefer what other teams have done, of course I do.

“I have been in the market of other teams, with that profile, but I am happy with our market profile and because we are stronger today than we were on December 31. We have lost players who haven’t played much with us and we have picked up others who have played more than them in a fortnight.

“Our objective is always to improve. My aim is always to improve in every market until the last one with Roma, which only the Friedkins know when that will be. The objective is that important players stay with us, in the specific case of Nicolò until 2024 he is our player.”

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