In the era of the transfer market, players are being bought and sold like capital shares. Consequently, football squads are getting less and less consistent, with several players coming and going with every new campaign. Nonetheless, some have been a little more stable than others.
According to study made by CIES – as reported by ilBianconero – Manchester United possess the most consistent squad among Europe’s top five leagues.
The study is based on a parameter called SSM (Sustainable Squad Management rating). In theory, a club that owns a young squad, and doesn’t change a big percentage of it every season, nor fill it with several loaned-in players, would be more likely to maintain a solid project.
Therefore, the research included all 98 teams who participate in the Top five European League – Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and of course Serie A.
As we mentioned above, the Red Devils were ranked in 1st position, with the Basque duo of Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao completing the podium.
The rest of the Top 10 is composed of Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool, Southampton, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Leipzig.
However, the results show some worrying signs for the Italian teams, as the first club to appear on the list is Sassuolo (29th).
Behind the Neroverdi, we find a host of Serie A clubs like Napoli (31st), Lazio (33rd), Cagliari (42nd), Bologna (49th). ), Milan (50th) and Torino (53rd).
On the other hand, Italian champions Juventus find themselves in the 58th spot, with current league leaders Inter right behind them at 59th.
Moreover, four Serie A sides were ranked in the bottom 10, with Genoa being identified as the least consistent side in the pool.
Whilst we’re not exactly sure about the accuracy of this study, but it is clear that Italian clubs lack some stability within their squads, and this could be one of the many reasons behind their recent European woes.