It’s almost July 1 when contracts expire and the transfer frenzy begins, so here’s what’s been happening in Italy’s Serie A and what the big clubs need to do before the window closes.
AC Milan
Signings: Philippe Mexes (AS Roma – Free), Taye Taiwo (Olympique Marseille – Free), Marco Amelia (Genoa – Undisclosed), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (FC Barcelona - €24m Permanent), Stephan Al Shaarawy (Genoa - €10m), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Genoa - €7m Permanent)
Departures: Marco Borriello (AS Roma - €10m Permanent), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus – Free), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Genoa – €4m), Didac Vila (Espanyol – Loan), Alexander Merkel (Genoa - €4m), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon - Undisclosed)
Max Allegri has sealed Kevin-Prince Boateng and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s futures on permanent deals, while he has also moved to reinforce his backline with Philippe Mexes and Taye Taiwo arriving. The departure of Andrea Pirlo shouldn’t hurt too much although it is sad to see him go.
Milan have been linked with Brazilian youngster Ganso and Napoli’s Slovakian midfielder Marek Hamsik while there has also been some speculation suggesting Antonio Cassano could be let go. Some pleasing news, was Alexandre Pato pledging his future to the Italian champions.
Inter Milan
Signings: Luc Castaignos (Feyenoord – Undisclosed), Emiliano Viviano (Bologna – €4.1m Co-ownership result)
Departures: Victor Obinna (Lokomotiv Moscow – Free)
Leonardo is gone at Inter, with Gian Piero Gasperini taking charge of the side, who has added goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano to put pressure on Julio Cesar for the number one jersey. However, little else has taken place with the managerial changes the focus.
There has been speculation of transfer activity with young Argentinean playmaker Erik Lamela linked with the club. There has also been rumours Maicon could leave, although his agent denies this. Dutch midfield genius Wesley Sneijder’s future remains uncertain and this needs to be resolved.
Napoli
Signings: Marco Donadel (Fiorentina – Free), Blerim Dzemaili (Parma - €9m), Daniele Mannini (Sampdoria - Free)
Departures: Michele Pazienza (Juventus – Free), Fabio Quagliarella (Juventus - €10.5m Permanent)
Last season’s surprise third-place getters have already added to their squad with the signing of Swiss midfielder Blerim Dzemaili, while they’ve bolstered their squad with seasoned Serie A players Marco Donadel and Daniele Mannini on free transfers. Napoli have also moved to secure topscorer Edinson Cavani’s future at the club.
Napoli have been linked with a big-money move for Palermo’s Javier Pastore which would be a coup, but their star midfielder Marek Hamsik could go to AC Milan in a blow. Napoli have also laughed off speculation linking Manchester City with key forward Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Udinese
Signings: Barreto (Bari - €3.5m), Gaetano D’Agostino (Fiorentina – Free), Danilo (Palmeiras - €2m)
Departures: Simone Pepe (Juventus - €7.5m Permanent), Marco Motta (Juventus - €3.75m Permanent), Andrea Mazzarani (Modena – Undisclosed)
Udinese may have a few quiet purchases this European summer, boosting their squad depth before next term’s Champions League tilt. However, their biggest challenge will be hanging onto Chilean attacker Alexis Sanchez who looks set to join FC Barcelona.
There has been strong speculation linking key midfielder Gokhan Inler with a move to Napoli, however Udinese look to be making contingency plans with Uruguayan midfielder Facundo Piriz reportedly lined up.
Lazio
Signings: Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich – Free), Nenad Lulic (Young Boys - €3m)
Departures: none
The Romans were surprise challengers for the top four last season and they seem intent on improving their strike force over the summer. Already German international Miroslav Klose has joined on a free transfer, while French star Djibril Cisse has been heavily linked with a move to the Italian capital.
Lazio boss Edy Reja may have an issue in defence, though, with dependable full-back Stephan Lichsteiner likely to join Juventus, however they have reportedly been in talks with West Bromwich’s Gabriel Tamas. Some good news is central midfielder Luciano Zauri committing his future to the club.
AS Roma
Signings: Marco Borriello (AS Roma - €10m Permanent)
Departures: Philippe Mexes (AC Milan – Free), Andrea Bertolacci (Lecce - €500k), Alessandro Crescenzi (Crotone - €175k)
Spaniard Luis Enrique has taken over as Roma boss after a campaign which was underwhelming. Roma has sealed striker Marco Borriello to a permanent deal, which boosts their forward line when Mirko Vucinic is being linked with a move away.
However, Roma could be set to seal a deal for Barcelona’s impressive young striker Bojan Krkic while another two Spaniards are in their sights in Dijon’s Jose Angel and Real Madrid’s Sergio Canales. The loss of defender Philippe Mexes is one they’ll need to cover however Juan and Nicolas Burdisso could be capable of doing the job.
Juventus
Signings: Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan – Free), Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria – Free), Michele Pazienza (Napoli – Free), Alessandro Matri (Cagliari - €15.5m Permanent), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli - €10.5m Permanent), Simone Pepe (Udinese - €7.5m Permanent), Marco Motta (Udinese - €3.75m Permanent)
Departures: Sebastian Giovinco (Parma - €3m), Alberto Aquilani (Liverpool – Loan Return)
New Juventus boss Antonio Conte has been handed a huge €50m transfer kitty for this European summer, so naturally the rumours have been rife. Already the Old Lady have landed a string of good players on free transfers, headlined by Andrea Pirlo, while they’ve sealed permanent deals for attacking talents such as Simone Pepe, Fabio Quagliarella and Alessandro Matri.
It is believed Conte is keen to make changes to Juventus’ midfield with Mohamed Sissoko and Felipe Melo likely to leave. Atletico Madrid forward Sergio Aguero and CSKA Moscow’s Keisuke Honda are two big names linked with the Turin club
Bologna
Signings: Jean-François Gillet (Bari - Free), Federico Rodriguez (Genoa – Free), Massimo Coda (Cremonese - €300k)
Departures: Emiliano Viviano (Inter Milan – Co-ownership result)
The departure of shot-stopper Emiliano Viviano back to Inter was a blow, but they look to have drafted in Bari’s trusty Belgian keeper Jean-Francois Gillet to replace him. They’ll do well to hang onto midfielder Gaston Ramirez too, after interest from Fiorentina.
Cagliari
Signings: Moestafa Al Kabir (Mjallby – Undisclosed), Gabriele Perico (AlbinoLeffe - Undisclosed)
Departures: Alessandro Matri (Juventus - €15.5m Permanent), Robert Acquafresca (Genoa – Loan Return), Simone Missiroli (AlbinoLeffe – Loan Return), Simon Laner (Reggina – Loan Return)
Cagliari boss Roberto Donadoni may look to offload unwanted keeper Federico Marchetti, due to the rise and rise of Michael Agazzi. Robert Acquafresca has been let go too, after eight goals last term. Reliable defender Davide Astori may push for a move to a bigger club.
Catania
Signings: none
Departures: none
There’s been little transfer activity from Vincenzo Montella’s new side. They have been linked with Juventus midfielder Jorge Martinez. They may have trouble holding onto Matias Silvestre, Maxi Lopez and/or Cristian Llama.
Cesena
Signings: Vincenzo Rennella (Genoa – Loan), Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina – Undisclosed), Marco Rossi (Parma - Undisclosed)
Departures: Luis Jimenez (Ternana – Loan Return)
Marco Giampaolo has been busy making some sound acquisitions so far this off-season with Romanian striker Adrian Mutu the biggest name to join. Defender Marco Rossi is a good signing too.
Chievo Verona
Signings: Gelson Fernandes (St Etienne - €3m Permanent), Kevin Constant (Chateauroux – Undisclosed Permanent), Marco Silvestri (Modena - Loan)
Departures: none
It’s been pretty quiet for the Little Donkeys, with permanent deals for Gelson Fernandes and Kevin Constant their key bits of transfer business. Of course, manager Stefano Pioli has been replaced by Domenico Di Carlo too.
Fiorentina
Signings: Matija Nastasic (Partizan Belgrade - €2.5m), Romulo (Cruzeiro - €2.5m)
Departures: Adrian Mutu (Cesena – Undisclosed), Marco Donadel (Napoli – Free), Gaetano D’Agostino (Udinese - Free)
Sinisa Mihaljovic’s side have been linked with several players this summer including Gaston Ramirez and Antonio Cassano, but there’s been no major acquisitions. Back-up goalkeeper Sebastien Frey has turned down offers to stay in Florence, while they may not be so lucky with young Alessio Cerci.
Genoa
Signings: Sokratis Papastathopoulos (AC Milan – €4m), Andreas Granqvist (FC Groningen - €2m), Alexander Merkel (AC Milan – €4m), Lucas Pratto (Boca Juniors - €3m), Ze Eduardo (Santos - €4.5m), Cristobal Jorquera (Colo Colo - €1.8m), Valter Birsa (AJ Auxerre - Free)
Departures: Diego Angelo (Eskisehirspor – Undisclosed), Marco Amelia (AC Milan – Undisclosed), Rafinha (Bayern Munich – Undisclosed), Vincenzo Rennella (Cesena – Loan), Stephan Al Shaarawy (AC Milan – €10m), Francesco Bolzoni (Siena – Undisclosed), Domenico Criscito (Zenit St Petersburg – Undisclosed), Federico Rodriguez (Bologna - Free)
It’s been a hectic summer as per usual for Genoa, however they’ve made some good signings particularly Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and German midfielder Alexander Merkel from Milan. New boss Alberto Malesani has lost two regulars in Domenico Criscito and Rafinha but looks to have replaced them. The €10m sale of youngster Stephan Al Shaarawy doesn’t appear bad business either.
Lecce
Signings: Andrea Bertolacci (AS Roma - €500k Permanent)
Departures: Raffaele Schiavi (Vicenza - Undisclosed)
New Lecce boss Eusebio Di Francesco has only just taken over recently, so there’s been little happening down in Apulia.
Palermo
Signings: Milan Milanovic (Lokomotiv Moscow – Free), Eros Pisano (Varese - Undisclosed), Adam Simon (Haladas – Undisclosed), Mauro Cetto (Toulouse – Free), Eran Zahavi (Hapoel Tel Aviv - Undisclosed)
Departures: none
Stefano Pioli has been appointed the new boss at the Renzo Barbera and his biggest task this summer could be holding onto Javier Pastore who is reportedly attracting some big bids. Palermo are also keen on Juventus striker Amauri, while they’ve made some interesting signings on the cheap, including highly-rated midfielder Eran Zahavi. Mauro Cetto is a good get too.
Parma
Signings: Fabio Borini (Chelsea – Free), Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus - €3m Permanent), Goncalo Brandao (Siena - Loan)
Departures: Milan Duric (Crotone – Loan), Angelo (Siena – Undisclosed), Marco Rossi (Cesena – Undisclosed), Blerim Dzemaili (Napoli - €9m)
Pasquale Marino’s replacement Franco Colomba has sealed a permanent deal for Sebastian Giovinco, while they have also lost key midfielder Blerim Dzemaili to Napoli and could lose Amauri back to Juventus. The loan signing of Portuguese international defender Goncalo Brandao could be a handy one too.
Siena
Signings: Francesco Bolzoni (Genoa – Undisclosed), Angelo (Parma - Undisclosed)
Departures: Goncalo Brandao (Parma – Loan), Domenico Danti (Vicenza - Undisclosed)
Giuseppe Sannino has been appointed Siena boss following Antonio Conte’s move to Juventus. One of his biggest tasks may be hanging onto sought-after teenager Souleymane Coulibaly.
