There probably won’t be fireworks, but there are a few big shoes to drop in Serie A, especially the future of Victor Osimhen, on deadline day. Several teams are in the hunt for the final bargains to round out their squads.
Torino and Empoli did their business early, as the Granata completed their new-look defense with the talented Sebastian Walukiewicz, while the Azzurri are getting a potential replacement, Saba Sazonov, and an extra striker, Pietro Pellegri, on loan with options to buy. The Tuscan side bid farewell to Francesco Caputo in recent days and also just onboarded Mattia De Sciglio from Juventus.
Instant reaction: Torino went for solid rather than high-end to rebuild their rearguard that lost Alessandro Buongiorno, Ricardo Rodriguez, and Koffi Djidji. Saul Coco has looked good so far. They have three massive dudes there considering also Samuel Maripan; plus, Perr Schuurs will come back at some point. They are a lot more physical than mobile, so the three-man line isn’t necessarily a lock to stay for the whole season.
Lazio have shipped off Nicolò Casale to Bologna and replaced him with Samuel Gigot from Olympique Marseille, Sky reports.
Instant reaction: it’s a rather underwhelming end of the search for a Riccardo Calafiori replacement considering all the names they explored and the windfall. They’ll be hoping he returns to his Hellas Verona levels after a pair of subpar seasons, but perhaps he’s not a great fit for a four-man defense. Instead, the Biancocelesti needed just a steady hand and got it for cheap.
Fiorentina tried to hold onto Sofyan Amrabat, who provided his contribution in the dramatic Conference League playoff, but Fenerbahce met their €18M price tag, Gianluca Di Marzio informs. The first piece to replace him is Danilo Cataldi from Lazio.
Instant reaction: peak Amrabat would have worked well in Raffaele Palladino’s tactics, and also at Napoli, which poked around, but it was probably a matter of motivations. Amir Richardson has looked good in his first showings, but they need a lot more than the Biancocelesti stalwart to be as good as last season at the position.
Roma were in the lead and indeed snapped up Manu Koné from Borussia Moenchengladbach, as Milan are still in a holding pattern due to their missed exits. The Giallorossi will shell out €17M plus add-ons, La Gazzetta dello Sport relays.
Instant reaction: that’s a nice way to bounce back from the Kevin Danso fiasco and to invest the remaining budget. Daniele De Rossi will have a few men to play with in the midfield, mixing and matching depending on the opponents and keeping everybody fresh. And they might not be done either.
Juventus and Lecce are doing some business together, as the Salentini are getting Luis Hasa for cheap and a 40 percent resale clause, while Giacomo Faticanti will bolster the former’s Next Gen squad, Calciomercato relays. The Bianconeri had trouble coming to terms on an extension with their talent.
Instant reaction: he has shown promise in Serie C, but the top flight is a different beast. Still, the formula is advantageous for both sides. The Giallorossi’s frontline is still in flux. He’ll have his opportunities if he settles in quickly.
UPDATE 16.50
After going for Arthur, Napoli have managed to crack Brighton’s resistance for Billy Gilmour. They’ll disburse a little more than anticipated, €14M, but they’ll indeed sign him. He’s having the medicals in England, Sportitalia informs. His arrival frees up Gianluca Gaetano, who can finally go back to Cagliari on loan with a €6M obligation to buy.
Instant reaction: they have added two great deputies despite not having the cups this season, as Antonio Conte evidently wanted to be totally at ease in the midfield. It surely made a lot more sense to acquire him rather than bring in the Juventus outcast on loan, solving a big problem for their rivals. He wouldn’t have played much and would have had disproportionate wages.
Udinese have added the versatile Rui Modesto from AIK, who has put up great numbers in Sweden and Finland in recent years.
Instant Reaction: they have some fine specialists but not a lot of offensive juice wide, so he’ll be a pleasant surprise if his prowess in the final third could translate to a much different league. They also need a quality center-back, though, as coach Kosta Runjaic confirmed that Nehuen Perez is headed to Porto.
UPDATE 17.50
Inter have completed the laborious acquisition of Tiago Tomas Palacios, which had been sealed a few days ago but had a few moving parts. Instead, Lecce are adding some veteran depth in the back with Kevin Bonifazi on loan from Bologna.
UPDATE 20.35
Parma ended a significant lull by signing Belgian Mandela Keità from Royal Antwerp to further bolster an already robust midfielder. Fiorentina weren’t done and they snapped up Edoardo Bove from Roma and Robin Gosens on loan with a €7M conditioned obligation to buy, Tuttomercatoweb informed. Instead, the Giallorossi product has been valued at about €12M, Corriere dello Sport relayed.
Instant reaction: perhaps La Viola waited for the outcome of the Conference League playoffs to add depth, but they are surely having the most convincing deadline day out of anybody in Serie A despite partying ways with Amrabat. A few teams tried unsuccessfully for the former Atalanta star this summer. He bounced back from a few rough seasons in the most recent one.
UPDATE 21.50
Verona have brought Filip Bradaric back to Serie A on loan from Salernitana, while Venezia have signed John Yeboah from Rakow to bolster their frontline that will likely lose Nicholas Pierini, who’s headed to Sassuolo.
UPDATE 23.30
Come have found the right-back they were looking for in Ignace Van Der Brempt from RB Salzburg and are on the precipice of bringing Ivan Perisic back to Italy from Hajduk Split, Fabrizio Romano reports. instead, Monza have onboarded young midfielder Alessandro Bianco from Fiorentina.
Instant reaction: the Lariani have created an alluring mix of youth and experience and a very large squad. They’ll be fine as long as half of their acquisitions pan out as much as they hope. Very little action for the Brianzoli this summer with the Berlusconi family no longer funneling money into the squad. They have a veteran team, but they might be in hot waters throughout the season.
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