The end of the group stages in the Champions League, a better sense of who is a contender and who is a pretender in Serie A , a slew of injuries and some recent coaching changes have impacted clubs’ plans for the January window.
With that in mind, which players are now more likely to change teams during the upcoming winter market?
Ricardo Rodriguez/Frank Kessie’- with Theo Hernandez breaking out and Pioli favoring other midfielders, both are struggling to find playing time and could find a home with their former manager Rino Gattuso taking over at Napoli. The partenopei are looking at potential replacements for Allan who hasn’t been the same player since being heavily linked to Paris St Germain at the beginning of the year, Kessie’ would be a more natural defensive midfielder than Zielinski and was a Gattuso favorite at Milan while Rodriguez could replace either Mario Rui or Ghoulam.
Allan- you have to wonder if De Laurentiis regrets not accepting Paris St Germain’s offer last January since the Brazilian midfielder’s form has dipped considerably and he was identified as one of the leaders of the player mutiny after the Salzburg match. Leonardo still holds Allan in high regard and De Laurentiis has previously sold Cavani and Lavezzi to the Ligue 1 champions.
Rodrigo de Paul- while we usually should take anything said publicly about transfers with a grain of salt, Udinese’s sporting director Marino recently stated that his club would be hard pressed to turn down a big offer for the Argentine international despite recently signing him to an extension. For his part, De Paul has used the Romelu Lukaku playbook and has stated his admiration for Conte in numerous occasions and even volunteered to play as a mezzala, a position Inter are looking to reinforce. De Paul is also a target for Napoli were he could be used as a replacement for either Mertens or Callejon.
Emre Can- the recent injury to Sami Khedira which will keep him out for about three months may have a significant impact on the former Liverpool midfielder who hasn’t hidden his displeasure from being kept off the Champions League squad. But Can has struggled to make an impact when getting an opportunity to play and with Sarri committed to giving Rabiot more opportunities after helping Bentancur develop significantly, he could still be sold which would net a significant plusvalenza for Juventus after signing him on a Bosman deal.
Can should at least take solace in the fact he has been linked to numerous big clubs including Barcelona in a potential swap deal for Ivan Rakitic, Paris St Germain who could offer Paratici favorite Leandro Paredes in exchange as well as Bayern Munich.
Matteo Politano- after thriving under Luciano Spalletti, the former Sassuolo winger has almost been an after thought for Antonio Conte. Fiorentina had pursued him last summer and can now offer him a chance for significant playing time to give Politano a chance to make the Azzurri’s squad at the upcoming Euros, he also could be used a sweetener to convince Parma to let Dejan Kulusevki go prior to his loan deal expiring next June.
Alessadro Florenzi- the giallorossi’s captain has found himself often behind Santon in Fonseca’s pecking order for the right back position and could leave in January to keep himself in shape for the upcoming Euro. Fiorentina are looking to make a significant statement during the January window and signing a starter on the Azzurri at a position of need would certainly fit Commisso’s modus operandi, Inter could also look to leverage their good relationship with Roma to give Conte a further reinforcement. You do have to wonder if however Roma, who are negotiating the potential sale of the club, are willing to let go of the last Roman institution on the squad following Totti and De Rossi’s departures.
Moise’ Kean- just like Mattia Caldara and Joao Cancelo, the promising striker struggled significantly after Juventus sold him. There has been already talk of Kean returning to Serie A on loan after a disastrous half of the season at Everton with Roma and Milan as potential destinations.
Dejan Kulusevski- the new version of Milinkovic Savic has taken Serie A by storm after joining Parma on loan from Atalanta’s youth system. Kulusevski has made it clear he wants to keep playing regularly but his performances have been so convincing that he could do so at a top club like Inter immediately. In addition to the nerazzurri, the Swedish prospect has also been linked to Juventus as well as some top Premier League clubs.
Mehdi Demiral- the Turkish defender struggled to find consistent playing time following a disastrous start against Hellas Verona at the start of the season, but during Juve’s recent Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen, he reminded everyone why he was so highly rated after a successful spell at Sassuolo.
Juventus would much rather sell Daniele Rugani, who also has a much lower amortized value remaining, but there is just much more demand for Demiral, from Premier League clubs as well as Milan, who maybe itching to play more often especially with Giorgio Chiellini expected back in March.