Roma vs Udinese preview - Destro happy at Stadio Olimpico

Posted Sunday, October 28, 2012 by PA

Mattia Destro has reaffirmed his commitment to Roma's cause ahead of the Serie A meeting with Udinese, insisting he never considered joining Juventus instead.

The Italy striker has struggled to make an impact since moving to the Stadio Olimpico from Siena this summer, with both poor form and a leg muscle injury denying the 21-year-old a first goal for his new club.

Reports in Italy have linked Juventus with a swap deal for the promising forward - with Fabio Quagliarella the rumoured makeweight - but Destro is determined to vindicate his choice of career path.

He told the Corriere dello Sport: "I'm very happy to have chosen Roma, it was an important decision for me and I want to give my all.

"I have no regrets about not choosing Juventus, I really wanted to come to Roma.

"My fitness? I've returned to training and my calf is feeling fine, but it's up to the coach whether I play or not.

"I want to get back among the goals as soon as possible and produce some good performances."

Roma have turned a corner after making an inconsistent start to the season, with their come-from-behind victory at Genoa boosting morale among the Giallorossi players.

"For a striker, getting goals is the most important thing, so I hope I can score on Sunday," Destro added.

"It doesn't matter where the coach wants me to play, I do what he wants without any problems.

"I have a normal relationship with him, we are all working hard because we want to perform well Sunday after Sunday.

"And soon we will be able to get an idea of what our targets are."

Federico Balzaretti is out of action due to a thigh problem, leaving Roma head coach Zdenek Zeman to consider handing some playing time to young Brazilian defender Dodo.

Following Thursday night's disappointing Europa League defeat at Young Boys, Udinese head coach Francesco Guidolin now finds himself without the services of Mehdi Benatia.

The Moroccan defender pulled an adductor muscle in Switzerland, and he joins Dusan Basta and Giovanni Pasquale on the absentee list ahead of the trip south.