Serie A Players to Watch on Transfer Market

As we head into the final stretch of the summer transfer window, Serie A has seen numerous players arrive from abroad to bolster the overall talent in the league. While Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously the name that stands out, we’ve also seen Roma sign two exciting prospects in Coric and Kluivert on top of bringing back Pastore, Napoli replace Jorginho with Fabian Ruiz and Fiorentina land FIFA and FM superstar Lafont. On top of Ronaldo, Juventus also added one of the most sought after Bosman signings of the summer in Emre Can and lower table teams like Cagliari and Sassuolo made their own versions of splashy signings with Darijo Srna and Prince Boateng respectively.

On the outgoing side of things, we’ve seen Alisson, Jorginho and Lucas Torreira head to the Premier League, and in a shocking turn of events Gigi Buffon took his talents to Paris. But as the season approaches, we can expect to see more Serie A players involved in transfer rumors, let’s take a look at which names are likely to dominate the mercato headlines in the coming weeks…

Gonzalo Higuain/Daniele Rugani

Going from Antonio Conte’s pragmatic approach to SarriBall will certainly come with a learning curve for Chelsea’s squad, so it would make sense to bring in more players familiar with the Blues new system. Chelsea already have the metronome from Sarri’s previous team in Jorginho to lead the midfield, and adding Rugani and Higuain, who also previously played for the Blues’ new manager at Empoli and Napoli respectvicely, would ensure there’s at least one player in each unit of the field already comfortable with what is expected of them.

After spending significantly on Ronaldo, Perin, Cancelo and Can (who cost 16 million in agent fees) Juventus are looking to raise funds to ensure they don’t set themselves up for Financial Fair Play issues down the road. Moving Higuain would save about 35 million in annual costs between gross wages and amortization, and Rugani could fetch a big profit when you consider he didn’t cost much to begin with.  

Miralem Pjanic/Alex Sandro 

While most Juventus fans would probably be fine with Higuain and Rugani leaving because their favorite team recently acquired Ronaldo and brought back Caldara, losing the former Roma player would be a considerable blow because the midfield has been the team’s Achilles heel the past two seasons. When you consider that Pjanic recently changed agents and hired Ramadani, there’s certainly more of a chance he could be leaving Turin- players either do that to get a raise or find a new club

Barcelona have identified Pjanic as a great replacement for Iniesta, while Chelsea and Manchester City would love to bring him to the Premier League. In addition to the Bosnian midfielder, Juventus could also lose Alex Sandro who has been linked mainly to Paris St Germain.

Leonardo Bonucci/Gigio Donnarumma

Alex Sandro isn’t the only Serie A player linked to Paris St Germain, who could end up helping Milan improve their financial situations with a massive savings on wages and at least one big profit. While last summer Bonucci insisted on staying in Italy after deciding to leave Juventus over a disagreement with Allegri, the prospect of another season with no Champions League added to all the uncertainty with the ownership situation may cause him to reconsider.

Despite leaving Juventus, Bonucci has maintained a great relationship with Gigi Buffon and they could be reunited under the Eiffel Tower. While Milan wouldn’t be able to turn a considerable profit on Bonucci considering his age and significant price tag from last summer, they could save around 16 million a year in gross wages by selling him. 

Despite coming off an up and down season, Donnarumma could still fetch a massive return as a home grown player with no previous transfer fee to amortize. While 19-year-old keeper is less than an ideal fit for Sarri since he struggles with his feet, he could become Chelsea’ fallback plan after Alisson signed with Liverpool. Milan could sell them Donnarumma and then use the proceeds to sign Alvaro Morata, who is pushing to return to Italy. 

Donnarumma has also been linked to Paris St Germain, who could certainly afford to pay his massive wages to be an understudy to Buffon for one season. The keeper’s agent Mino Raiola has great relations with the Ligue 1 champions and this move would also save Milan considerably wages wise at a time where they already have a starting caliber keeper on squad after signing Pepe Reina on a Bosman signing. 

Suso

Speaking of turning a massive profit at a time that Milan needs to raise funds, there could be another opportunity to do so with the former Liverpool winger. While Suso’s 40 million exit clause recently expired, he still has considerable market as he’s been linked to Chelsea, both Madrid clubs as well as Napoli and Roma, who see him as an alternative to Malcom.

Suso struggled once Milan replaced Montella with Gattuso, and he could be looking for a fresh start elsewhere. When you consider that Milan signed him on a Bosman deal, he could turn a huge profit even though his value dipped a bit after his difficult second half to last season.

Ivan Perisic

After his stellar performances in the World Cup, I can only imagine how much Ed Woodward regrets not matching Inter’s asking price last summer. You couldn’t clone a winger more suited for Mourinho’s style, but when you consider how different the nerazzurri’s financial situation is compared to 2017, it will be very difficult and expensive to make up for last summer’s mistake.

Inter were able to meet their Financial Fair Play parameters by selling numerous prospects earlier this summer, so they have no urgency to sell Perisic who also signed an extension during the season. In addition to Manchester United having to make a huge offer, the Croatian would have to push to leave, which is probably less likely now that Inter are back in the Champions League.