There has been positive momentum for Serie A as a league dating back to last summer. The six strikers that scored over twenty goals the previous season, all stayed in Italy while Leonardo Bonucci and Federico Bernardeschi remained in the league despite changing clubs- a refreshing development compared to the previous summers in which we saw a mass exodus abroad.
The trend continued during the season, with Roma making it all the way to the Champions League semifinals while Napoli proved to be a serious challenger to Juventus by finishing the season with 91 points, the highest total for a runner up in league’s history. But will we continue to see Serie A on an upward trajectory?
With about three weeks to go in the transfer window, the indications are quite positive- so now that the schedules are out, let’s take stock to determine if level of talent has increased in the league overall:
Just the Facts
In: Lautaro Martinez, Can, Pastore, Kluivert, Coric, Marcano, Santander, Colley, Berisha Durmisi, Lafont, Fabian Ruiz, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pasalic, Santander, Srna, Criscito, Bremer, Meite, Boateng, Colley, Olsen, Ancelotti
Out: Masina, Nani, Lichtsteiner, Rafinha, Torreira, Jorginho, Alisson, Bruno Gaspar, Buffon, Barreca, Felipe Anderson, Eder, Sarri
Incoming
Huge Names: Carlo Ancelotti, Cristiano Ronaldo
While Napoli’s first choice was to retain Maurizio Sarri, landing Ancelotti raised the club’s profile in a very substantial way. The partenopei’s new manager’s CV lists clubs like Real Madrid, PSG, Chelsea and Milan when Milan was still Milan- and while he’s coming off a very disappointing stint at Bayern Munich, the fact that he accepted to lead Napoli’s project over other jobs, including the Azzurri’s bench, is quite the coup for president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
A lot has been written about Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Juventus, but a fact really stands out to be me- while Juventus have had plenty of Ballon d’Or winners during their history, they have never acquired a player who was the current Ballon d’Or trophy holder at the time of the transaction. You can also make a great case, that when he walks on the pitch at Bentegodi to face Chievo, he’ll be the best player to ever wear the beckoner’s jersey.
While Darijo Srna’s profile isn’t on the level of Ronaldo and Ancelotti, the fact the most capped player in the history of the Croatian national team chose the Sardinians as his next destination is quite the coup for a club that was in race to avoid relegation until the very end of the season.
Excellent Prospects: Lafont, Lautaro Martinez, Kluivert, Coric, Fabian Ruiz
Anyone familiar with FIFA is aware of how much hype there is for keeper Lafont- should Fiorentina follow the training regimen I used on the video game, they may have the next Alisson on their hands by this time next year.
Prior to signing with Inter, Lautaro Martinez was one of the most highly rated prospects in South America- and so far in pre season he has done nothing to curb the enthusiasm for his acquisition, in fact he has already developed good chemistry with Mauro Icardi. Considering Inter’s track record with Argentines, the odds that we have another Gabigol like bust on our hands are rather slim.
While last summer Monchi’s best acquisition ended up being Kolarov, a year later we are seeing the Spanish sporting director in his element- finding great prospects. Roma’s president James Pallotta already compared Justin Kluivert to Iverson (hopefully not because of his practice habits and off the pitch lifestyle) while Coric has been the giallorossi’s most impressive player so far this summer.
Napoli have an excellent track record with young midfielders, and while we can expect Ancelotti to give more playing time to Zielinski, Diawara and Rog (a player Sarri essentially ignored) the one to watch appears to be new addition Fabian Ruiz, who is considered to be a better fit in the new system than former Sarri Ball metronome Jorginho.
Returns: Pasalic, Boateng, Criscito, Pastore
Those who travel to Italy almost always want to return someday- and that is also true for footballers, especially now that the league’s profile is rising. Pasalic should benefit tremendously from the Gasperini regimen, the Atalanta manager turned midfielders Kessie and Cristante into stars while also getting a lot from De Roon and Freuler.
Domenico Cristante had been linked to Serie A clubs for years, but getting Zenit to agree to let him leave was another story. He’ll be Genoa’s new captain at a time that the club made numerous intriguing additions including former Tottenham midfielder Sandro and Romulo, one of the most underrated wing backs in Serie A.
Lazio Specials: Berisha, Durmisi and Correa
In recent years sporting director Igli Tare’ has discovered numerous intriguing talents abroad- and while Milinkovic Savic is the sexiest name, we shouldn’t overlook Marusic and Luis Alberto. This summer Tare’ has acquired Durmisi who could be the long term heir to Lulic, as well Salzsburg midfielder Berisha who is coming off an excellent season and Joaquin Correa. The former Sampdoria offensive midfielder has the talent to be an excellent replacement for Felipe Anderson at the fraction of the cost.
Departures
Keepers: Buffon, Alisson
In the span of a few weeks Serie A lost arguably the best keeper ever as well as the best player at the position last season. While Buffon showed last season he still has plenty left, Juventus replaced him well by bringing in Mattia Perin as insurance on Woj Szczesny.
While you can’t blame Roma for accepting a record breaking bid for a keeper, losing Alisson will certainly have a big impact unless Marco Savorani can pull out another rabbit out of his hat with Olsen. Roma’s keeper coach has been instrumental into developing both Alisson and Szczesny in recent years.
Trying to end the Premier League curse: Jorginho, Torreira, Felipe Anderson
Jorginho and Torreira were amongst the best midfielders in Serie A- but at least Napoli and Sampdoria replaced them well by bringing in Fabian Ruiz and Jankto respectively (Sampdoria is also close to bringing back Obiang). Felipe Anderson had lost his starting job after a clash with Simone Inzaghi- all three players will try to take a page out of the Mohamed Salah playbook and try to break the curse of former Serie A players in the Premier League.
Left backs: Barreca, Masina
When you consider the lack of quality options at left back on the market, you have to wonder if Bologna and Torino could have received more for their two up and coming wingbacks. What is certain is their departures makes a thin position in the league even weaker.
Other notable departures: Eder, Sarri, Rafinha, Lichtsteiner
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