By the end of every season, Serie A loses the presence of three of its clubs. Now surely another trio from Serie B moves up in the opposite direction, but in the madhouse known as Calcio, every club brings a different and irreplaceable aspect to the grand mosaic. But while Genoa, Cagliari and Venezia will be dearly missed next season, a small part of them will live on in the top tier through some of the players will find an escape route that spares them from the agony of relegation. So here are ten relegated players who deserve to stay in Serie A.
Mattia Aramu (Venezia)
We begin with one of the most improved players in the league last season. The attacking midfielder has finally found a niche at Venezia and has recently signed a contract extension, but he displayed the type of flair and talent that warrant him another crack at Serie A football.
Raoul Bellanova (Cagliari)
In the last few days, growing reports are linking the young wingback with a switch to Inter. The 22-year-old’s contract has been purchased by Cagliari after spending the campaign on loan from Girondins Bordeaux, and the Sardinians will be looking to gain an immediate windfall from his sale.
Andrea Cambiaso (Genoa)
Yet another wingback who proved to be one of the best revelations of the season. The young left-back has attracted the interest of likes of Juventus and Atalanta among others, with the Bianconeri looking particularly bewitched by his talent.
Alessio Cragno (Cagliari)
The Italy international has been tipped to leave the island of Sardinia for quite some time. He ended up enduring a miserable season (only registering two clean sheets) but the custodian remains a hot property on the market, and the newly-promoted Monza could pounce for his services.
Mattia Destro (Genoa)
At the age of 31, the former Roma and Milan man has massive experience under his belt, but remains young and hungry enough to play an important role for any midtable Serie A searching for a bomber.
Joao Pedro (Cagliari)
The naturalized Italian has a tough decision to make this summer after trying his best to drag Cagliari towards safety but falling just short.
If there’s one relegated player who deserves to ply his trade in Serie A, then it’s him. So will the captain have the guts to leave his sunken ship?
Thomas Henry (Venezia)
Speaking of strikers, the Frenchman’s prowess has been slightly overlooked. Now surely nine goals isn’t the most impressive of tallies by any means, but he wasn’t receiving the greatest service.
Strong, physical and an eye for goal. Who wouldn’t want an affordable center forward with such traits.
Razvan Marin (Cagliari)
The former Ajax man might be one of the most under-appreciated players in Serie A, and playing for an eventually relegated side surely didn’t help his cause.
The Romanian is a smart central forward who can pick up a teammate with his exquisite passing. He had six assists to his name last season.
Nahitan Nandez (Cagliari)
A great many things went wrong for Cagliari last season, and the Uruguayan’s injury was one of them.
The former Boca Juniors midfielder is one of the most prized assets for the Isolani, and they will likely cash in on him this summer.
Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa)
Our second goalkeeper on the list. Now surely things were disastrous for Genoa last season (at least prior the arrival to their third manager of the campaign Alexander Blessin), but it could have been even more dreadful if it wasn’t for the safe pair of hands of the former Palermo and PSG custodian.
Surely a Serie A side will come knocking on on the door for the relegated shot-stopper, with some even suggesting a transfer to either Lazio or Napoli.