Rio Ave risks losing sports director Matteo Tognozzi to Roma, who are fighting for a Champions League spot and want a modern professional to support coach Gian Piero Gasperini. Matteo Tognozzi was appointed as Rio Ave's new sports director on September 21, succeeding Pedro Albergaria. Before joining Vila do Conde, he held the same position at Granada between 2023 and 2025 and built most of his career as a scouting and observation responsible at Juventus, after passing through clubs like Zenit, Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen.