El Aynaoui: “I can’t wait to play the Champions League. We’re making good progress with Gasperini.”

During Roma’s training camp in Wales, Neil El Aynaoui hopes to convince Gian Piero Gasperini to hand him the midfield.

The Moroccan shines with his national team and demonstrated his true potential at the World Cup, but his performances for the Giallorossi are far from his full potential.

The Giallorossi number 8 gave an exclusive interview to Radio Radio.

The midfielder opened by speaking about his difficult start: “I’m fine and I’m happy to have started working with the team again. At first, it was a bit difficult because I lacked rhythm, but now I’m working hard to get back to the level of my teammates.”

He then emphasized how important it is for him to wear the Morocco jersey: “When you play for your country, it’s different. There’s an incredible energy, and I’m happy with the coach’s confidence in me. With Morocco, you almost don’t feel the fatigue.”

France and Spain are among the possible options, but Neil has decided to defend the Atlas Lions jersey.

The 2001-born player explained the reasons behind his decision: “The choice to represent his family’s country of origin, despite his childhood split between France and Spain, came naturally: “My father (tennis player) represented Morocco throughout his career, and I’ve always had a special relationship with that country. As a child, I spent about two months there every summer to be with my family.”

Despite the ups and downs, El Aynaoui’s experience at Roma was and will be important: “It was the first time I left France and was facing a new league. This experience helped me grow, and today I feel I have much more experience.”

Then the number 8 spoke about Gian Piero Gasperini’s demands: “He’s a very demanding coach and knows exactly what he wants. We work hard, and I think that, thanks to him, we’re making great progress.”

The 2001-born player had accustomed us to scoring well at Lens, but in his first season in the capital, he scored just two goals.

Commenting on the decline in goalscoring, El Aynaoui specified that numbers don’t matter: “It depends on the way we play. I like to finish things off and try to score, but the most important thing is to help the team and do what the coach asks.”