Serie A Transfer Roundup

This week we continue to review the transfers that were made in Serie A. One more mail remains before we pivot back to more analysis-focused posts and probably something different that I have to decide upon. So today, we focus on what was yet to be talked about for Atalanta, Fiorentina, Roma, Torino, and Sassuolo.

Roma: Simple Solution

For Roma, there is Tsimikas to talk about. He comes on a simple loan for which Roma will just cover his salary. He'll be simply good for Roma when on the pitch, but will probably battle with Angeliño for the starting place.

Torino: Calculated Risks

Torino has Asllani and Nkounkou to cover.

Asllani was not very good defensively for Inter, nor did he progress the ball a lot, but I still think it's an intelligent move for Torino. He's 23 – one year younger than Ricci whom he's going to replace – and comes with a loan fee of €1.5 million plus a €12.5 million option. Torino would want to give him a lot of minutes and help him grow into the player Inter thought he could become before transforming him into a bench warmer.

Niels Nkounkou seems like a good pickup for the €0.5 million loan fee + €5 million option. Born in 2000, he's entering peak-age for a left back and offers good quality but not quantity defense, while his strength comes from what he does on the ball. I like him and think he could finally put Biraghi on the bench.

Atalanta: Questionable Investments

Atalanta did not have a great transfer window in my opinion. I already underlined my doubts over what they did with Sulemana and Jurić.

They spent around €17 million on Zalewski, who was an okay wingback on everything for Roma in 2023/24 and a very good one when it came to dribbling, carrying, and creating shots. He's entering peak-age being born in 2002, so he could easily repay the amount Atalanta spent for him. I'm pretty okay with this one, even though it was a move that baffled many in Italy given he was paid half that by Inter 6 months ago.

Then they did something very similar for the other wingback position, getting Yunus Musah from Milan for a package that could reach €25 million. Musah was not very good at Milan, but again he's a 2002, so he's just entering peak-age having played at Milan, in Champions League and all. Not only that, he can play multiple positions both in midfield, as a winger, and as a wingback. His numbers were not good, Jurić doesn't feel like the best development manager to me, Bellanova will be the starting right wingback, he won’t play as a winger and in midfield there’s fierce competition for a place, so this doesn't feel like a clever move.

Then they spent €25 million + add-ons for Mr. "I SHOOT THE BALL" Krstović. This seems a lot like the Retegui deal last year – a player who carried all the weight of the offense for a mediocre team with a fair return, and Atalanta picked him up for quite a high amount. Will Krstović win the Capocannoniere title and be sold for €60 million like Retegui? I want to doubt it, but his numbers seem okay given he'll probably be asked primarily to score goals.

Fiorentina: Mixed Bag

Fiorentina probably wasted money on Lamptey in short-term as he's basically attack-only, blocked by Dodô in the starting lineup, and very injury-prone. Then they decided to spend a similar amount of money that Atalanta splashed on Krstović for Roberto Piccoli, who is kind of the same player but a little bit worse and one year younger, that was after having bought Džeko and already having locked up Kean in the team. I'm not with these two.

Then Fiorentina declined to make 2000-born Yacine Adli permanent for a total of €13 million to buy 2000-born Nicolussi Caviglia for €8 million if made permanent. It's okay – his numbers don't suggest he's immediately upgrading Adli, but he played a lot more last year and in a much worse team. They're paying less and getting an Italian player that helps with registration lists. This one seems pretty good given it will also allow them to play Fagioli in his preferred position.

Sassuolo: Building Smart

Then we come to Sassuolo, who moved a lot on the market. They got Muric in the goalkeeper position from Ipswich for an option to buy over €10 million?! This seems good for Sassuolo to be fair, maybe a bit pricey, but we're still talking about a 1998 goalkeeper with two seasons in the Premier League worth of experience, even though Ipswich fans seem happy he was let go.

Then they got Matić and Vranckx for their midfield – a very experienced one and one who was highly regarded as a talent some years ago. Matić comes on a free and will probably have the most immediate impact, so it's okay. Vranckx is on loan + option for €9 million, but it seems he needs a total reboot of his career, which I hope he gets.

Then they got two centerbacks from relegated Venezia – strange – for a combined €12.5 million. Idzes is a 2000 and seems more highly regarded, but Candé (1998) was clearly the better one statistically and seems like a good pickup to try and avoid relegation.