Ranieri: "Gasperini will not be the next Roma head coach"

With current manager Claudio Ranieri set to take on a director's role at Roma at the end of the season, the 'Giallorossi' are in the hunt for a new candidate in the dugout for the upcoming season. Atalanta's Gian Piero Gasperini rose among other names. 

But the former Leicester City boss shut down such speculations while speaking during a press conference earlier on Thursday. "You can count out all the names that were brought up. Gasperini will not be the next Roma head coach, someone else will," Ranieri told reporters.

"This week we've talked about Gasperini, and next week someone else. What do you expect a coach to say when asked about Roma?" the 73-year-old questioned, referring to how rumours started after Gasperini admitted it was "an honour to be linked" with the Italian capital side.

Ranieri added: "The thing that makes me happy is that of all the candidates brought up, no one mentioned those I held talks with. It's a sign we are heading in the right direction. The Italian concluded on the topic, insisting he does not want to extend his role for another year.