Roma head coach Luis Enrique says Daniele De Rossi re-signing with the club is a boon ahead of their trip to Catania on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old has signed a new five-year contract despite being heavily linked with a move to England throughout months of contract negotiations, although Enrique said he always expected De Rossi would stay.
"I imagined he would since I knew what his opinion was," Enrique said.
De Rossi, who has played 249 games for Roma, has made it clear many times throughout his career that the capital club is his spiritual home.
"This gesture further confirms he is a point of reference for this team, he is a top-level player and I'm still expecting a lot from him in the future," Enrique said.
"There are players who can make the difference and De Rossi is surely one of them."
With the top five Serie A clubs all dropping points over the weekend, Roma has a chance to make up ground on their rivals, but Enrique says they deserve to be sixth on current form.
"In order to be a top team you need a consistency, which we haven't yet proved," Enrique said.
"The only team I've seen who are clearly better than us on the pitch is Milan but as for consistency we're far from all the teams aiming to win the Scudetto or aiming to end the season in the Champions League zone - the table is clear."
"But the season is still long and that's good for us because if we know we haven't been consistent in the first half of the season, the second round is still to be played and I'm confident because what I see when Roma play makes me feel confident."
"Let's see if we can make it."
Enrique's side sits eight positions and 11 points ahead of Catania leading into Wednesday's match and if they beat the Sicilian club, Roma will move above Inter Milan on the table.