Welcome to The Cult of Calcio’s Serie A Transfer Market Roundup! We’ll take you on a tour all around the Italian peninsula bringing you the hottest transfer market stories of the day, including done deals and other possible moves.
While the “Messi to Inter” story is losing it’s steam recently with Manchester City being the obvious favorites in the case where the legendary Argentine manages to escape his golden Catalan prison, another Barcelona mega-star could be heading to Italy.
Luis Suarez and Juventus are reportedly close to agreeing on a deal once the Uruguayan manages to rescind his Barcelona contract – which seems very likely at this point since he won’t be included in the plans of the new boss Ronald Koeman.
The potential arrival of Suarez will no doubt shake up the strikers’ market and change several plans. Roma captain Eden Dzeko was thought to be Juve’s main target for the center-forward role, but now he could remain in the capital for another season.
And if the Bosnian stays at Roma, then the future of Arkadiusz Milik will be more somber than ever. The big Polish striker had already agreed with Napoli on an amicable divorce this summer, with the southerners acting swiftly to secure the services of the Nigerian powerhouse Victor Osimhen, but with Juventus no longer interested in Milik after Maurizio Sarri’s departure, and Roma sticking to Dzeko, the failure to offload the unwanted Polish could jeopardize Napoli’s entire summer plans.
On the other hand, some reports surfaced lately claiming that Antonio Conte will try to bring Dzeko to Inter again during this market after his failed attempts last summer, as the Nerazzurri are trying to find someone who can rotate with Romelu Lukaku during the season. Undoubtedly, both Napoli and Milik will be crossing their fingers, hoping that such a deal can go through.
Speaking of Roma veterans who are heading to Inter, Aleksandar Kolarov has agreed to join Conte’s side with an official announcement expected soon. The Serbian can be deployed as a left wing-back or a left center-back which would render him a priceless piece in the plans of the former Juventus boss.
Antonio Conte will also be looking to bolster his midfield with an experienced ball-winner. While his former Chelsea pupil N’golo Kanté has been mentioned, Inter director Piero Ausilio described such a deal as impossible, which suggests that Conte will seek his former Juventus ally Arturo Vidal who’s also on his way out of Barcelona.
On the other side of the city, Milan continue to quietly but surely work on upgrading the squad with several exciting arrivals. On Thursday, Real Madrid young attacker Brahim Diaz arrived for his medical examinations before his initial loan move to the Rossoneri which could be made permanent by the end of the season with the Spanish giants retaining a buy-back clause.
Brescia’s young midfielder Sandro Tonali should also complete his Milan move in the coming days, which would enable the club to focus on finalizing the transfers of their other targets, including Chelsea’s Tiemoué Bakayoko – whose return to Milano looks imminent, and perhaps Spurs’ right-back Serge Aurier – even if Milan’s interest in him seems to have cooled down recently.
Staying in the Lombardy Region, Atalanta have sold Belgian wing-back Timothy Castagne to Leicester city while the German international Robin Gosens could soon follow. Roma’s Dutch right-back Rick Karsdorp will join La Dea as a replacement after failing to secure a starting spot during his spell in the capital.
This past week, Atalanta also managed to secure the signing of Aleksei Miranchuk from Lokomotiv Moscow, possibly as a replacement for Josip Ilicic who’s future as a footballer looks uncertain. And on Thursday, it was reported that the club secured the signing of the young Juventus defender Christian Romero on a two-year loan deal with an obligation to buy.
Returning to Napoli, President De Laurentiis announced that defender Kalidou Koulibaly can leave for the right price, which can be viewed as a direct message towards Man City. The Patron also mentioned Arsenal’s Sokratis as a potential replacement for the Senegalese, which would be a return to Serie A for the former Milan and Genoa defender.
While Lucas Torreira is also seeking to leave Arsenal in favor of a return to Italy, Fiorentina are reportedly ditching their interest in the Uruguayan and will instead hunt after the Italy international Giacomo Bonaventura who’s currently a free agent after leaving Milan.
In other news, Roma are working on finalizing the return of Chris Smalling from Manchester United, while forward Gianluca Lapadula will receive another chance in the top-tier after signing for Serie B champions Benevento, and Udinese secured the signing of Alkmaar defender Thomas Ouwejan.
But the newly-promoted Crotone could be the stars of the day, after the double-swoop of Ajax defender Lisandro Magallan and Sporting midfielder Eduardo Henrique.