The January transfer window is now about a month away and with a third of the season in the books, Serie A clubs have a pretty good idea of what they’ll need during the “mercato di riparazione” (the market to fix things). While there may not be a legitimate challenger to Juventus for the title, the race for the final two Champions League spots and competition to avoid relegation will motivate many to be active in the first month of the new year.

In the coming weeks, we’ll look at some specific needs and targets for the top teams in Serie A, but for now let’s set the table by looking at the main themes when it comes to January transfers:

Juventus

Main Theme: Paratici’s first window without Marotta

While Juventus has done just fine despite Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal’s departure in recent years, it remains to be seen how they’ll do without one of the architects of their successful run to seven consecutive league titles.

While Fabio Paratici’s role had grown in recent years, so much so that he was the one representing the club during Cristiano Ronaldo’s introductory press conference, he’ll now be working his first window without his mentor Beppe Marotta, the man who brought him to Juventus from Sampdoria.

Certainly there’s a significant contingent of Juventus fans who expect Paratici to make a bold move to bolster a midfield that felt a player short the minute Claudio Marchisio was released, but considering Emre Can’s imminent return, Allegri’s blind faith in Sami Khedira and especially Rodrigo Bentancur’s emergence, if there’s an acquisition at all it’s more likely to be a move like the one Juventus completed a few years ago for Tomas Rincon.

There’s also expected to be significant interest in Moise Kean, who will likely go play on loan abroad (unless he’s sold with a buy back clause for financial reasons) and Daniele Rugani.

Inter

Main Theme how much will Marotta leverage his relationships in Italy in January?

As I write this Beppe Marotta’s move to Inter isn’t yet official, but it’s also the worst kept secret since who killed Nicole Brown Simpson. While the track record of former Juventus figures at Inter is hit or miss (Trapattoni and Lippi), Marotta should compliment sporting director Piero Ausilio quite well.

Ausilio has always been focused on player scouting and acquisitions, a role that Paratici filled brilliantly at Juventus, so Marotta can be more of an administrator, a financial expert and someone who can leverage his relationships in Italy with other clubs and the federation/league office.

Inter has been rather active in previous January windows and have developed great relationships with clubs like Sampdoria and Lazio. Marotta will be able to help even more in this area, it’s not out of the question that we see the nerazzurri linked to players on Udinese (De Paul, Fofana, Samir) and Sassuolo, two clubs the former Juventus executive director has a strong bond to.

Napoli

Main Theme- will players actually want to come here now?

Last January Napoli’s president De Laurentiis and sporting director Giuntoli were desperate to make a move to bolster their chances to win the scudetto. But Sarri’s unwillingness to rotate and the difficulty of new players to integrate themselves in his system made this task that much harder.

While Simone Verdi finally arrived this summer, he famously turned down Napoli last January mainly because he wanted to continue playing regularly. Napoli were dealt another set back when Sassuolo’s position in the standings got so precarious it became almost impossible for them to sell Matteo Politano, who has now turned out to be a very good addition for Inter.

But with Ancelotti replacing Sarri, the situation is radically different. The former Milan manager has been the exact opposite of his predecessor with rotation, a new addition wouldn’t have to worry about not being integrated in the squad. 

But despite this important adjustment, we may end up seeing Faouzi Ghoulam and Alex Meret as the main additions for Ancelotti, something I’m sure Adriano Galliani would find quite ironic. Napoli will likely focus on pursuing Cavani next summer rather than in January.

Roma

Main theme- is it worth making a big sacrifice to qualify for the Champions League?

Last summer it felt like Roma’s plan was to take one step back to take two forward. Considering they weren’t going to realistically surpass Juventus anyway, it made sense to acquire players like Cristante, Kluivert and Coric who would peak in a year or two while shedding the high wages of older players like Nainggolan and Strootman.

In a lot of ways finishing second or fourth ultimately makes little difference, the key thing is getting that Champions League revenue, which for a club like Roma who is still burdened with the debt from the previous administration, is absolutely vital. But after dropping so many points against mid to lower table teams, finishing fourth is for from a guarantee for the giallorossi.

Will Pallotta be willing to make even more sacrifices to give Monchi the funds needed to make one or two important additions? They certainly need to fix Di Francesco’s defense, but it’s also not out of the question, Roma goes the opposite way and moves Edin Dzeko to give Patrik Schick even more space. 

Milan

Main Theme- would Ibrahimovic coming back be the equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig?

If you are reading this you are almost certainly aware of all the injuries Milan suffered recently. The January window will be an opportunity to make further additions to offset all the losses in personnel even after the deal for Paqueta was already completed. While the Brazilian fits a clear need in a midfield that needs more creativity, would brining Ibrahimovic back actually really help the situation?

Sure there’s no doubt Gattuso needs a third striker because the idea of seeing Borini again as a false nine is something Milanisti don’t want to have to experience again, but would Zlatan’s arrival create even more pressure on Higuain and take even more playing time away from Cutrone?