Serie A second season

Eight Stars Who Are Tipped to Succeed in Their Second Serie A Season

AC Milan, Italian Football, Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Serie A

As most players who enjoyed an experience in Calcio would testify, Serie A remains one of the toughest leagues in European football. For foreigners who arrive from other nations, the initial culture shock could be devastating, especially when it comes to taking note of all the small tactical details. Whilst some would fail to adjust, others would pass their adaptation period, and start delivering the goods. So here are eight players who enjoyed decent inaugural Serie A campaigns, but are tipped to do much better in their second season.

8- Borja Mayoral (Roma)

Owned by Real Madrid, the Spaniard is currently in the middle of a two-year loan stint at the Italian capital. After acting as an understudy for Edin Dzeko, the latter’s clash with former manager Paulo Fonseca provided Mayoral with the opportunity to start matches.

Whilst 17 goals and 7 assists in his first Serie A season make for impressive stats, the 24-year-old should deliver even more to earn a permanent spot with the Giallorossi squad.

Nonetheless, José Mourinho’s arrival could complicate the young striker’s stay at the Eternal City, as the Special One could instead opt to reinstate the tried and tested Dzeko into the first lineup.

7- Brahim Diaz (Milan)

Mayoral’s compatriot and former Madrid teammate is facing a similar scenario in his second Serie A season. In theory, the young attacking midfielder should build upon his strong ending of the last campaign and continue to grow from strength to strength.

However, Milan’s pursuit of a more experienced player in the number 10 role could put his development in jeopardy, even though he can still overcome the odds and prove his worth to the team.

6- Joakim Maehle (Atalanta)

The right wingback arrived to Bergamo in the middle of the last campaign, and although it’s hard to break through Gian Piero Gasperini’s lineup, his quick progress (as witnessed in Euro 2020) could force the tactician to deploy him on more regular basis.

Whilst he primarily plays on the right, Robin Gosens’ potential departure would leave a vacant spot on the left flank, and the versatile Dane could be the man to capitalize on the situation.

5- Eldor Shomurodov (Roma)

The Uzbek star is still officially a Genoa player, but he’s expected to spend his second season in Serie A playing for Roma.

The 26-year-old is a forward who can interpret various attacking roles, and whilst he showed flashes of his brilliance at Genoa, featuring for a bigger side would surely offer him the opportunity to showcase his true talent.

4- Mikkel Damsgaard (Sampdoria)

The second Dane on the list. The 21-year-old is wanted by a host of top European clubs from Italy and abroad.

However, if he remains at Sampdoria for an additional season, we expect him to take the league by storm with his marvelous talent – although it would also depend on the capability of his teammates.

3- Fikayo Tomori (Milan)

In what is turning out to be one of the least glamorous summer transfer markets in Italy, the transfer fee paid for the defender (29 million euros) remains the highest  in Serie A during the current session.

However, this also proves that the former Chelsea man truly passed the test during his first six months at San Siro, and after relegating club captain Alessio Romagnoli to the bench, we can expect the Englishman to march on towards further exploits.

2- Weston McKennie (Juventus)

Since his first match in a Juventus jersey, it was pretty obvious that the American possesses some remarkable physical abilities.

Whilst the young midfielder was lost along with Andrea Pirlo’s whole plot last season, the experienced Max Allegri should put the player’s unique characteristics into better use.

1-  Victor Osimhen (Napoli)

After his hefty transfer from Lille last summer, major expectations were laid upon the young Nigerian, but the first half of his campaign was wrecked by injuries, Covid-19 and some problems off the pitch.

Whilst the striker bounced back after Christmas, 10 goals throughout the season were deemed to be not enough to impress the demanding southern fanbase.

But with a full year of Serie A experience under his belt, his second season in Napoli is expected to be much more explosive, especially following the appointment of Luciano Spalletti, who could turn the 22-year-old into a major star in Italian football.

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