Serie A purely dominated the 2000’s. Clubs like AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan had a chokehold on football with their legendary stars like Kaká, Clarence Seedorf, Francesco Totti, Javier Zanetti and Alessandro Del Piero. The league reached a period of predictability, while Juventus were able to win nine straight Scudetto’s (the name of the Series A title). However, the league has taken a turn in the last three years, restoring the competitive fire that stole our hearts during those calcio (soccer/football in Italian) glory years. The league title wasn’t decided until the last match day last year and after this eventful summer transfer window, Serie A is looking to be more competitive than ever. Let’s get into it.
1. Romelu Lukaku returns to Inter Milan
We all knew it was coming. When that SkyItalia interview came out in December the writing was on the wall for the Belgian striker to return to the San Siro. And rightfully so, as I think Inter is the absolute best scenario for him as a footballer right now. It is the place where he has seen the most success both individually and as a team. Lukaku returns to the Nerazzurri on a one-year loan deal from Chelsea. The last time Lukaku lined up for the Italian side, he bagged 30 goals and added 10 assists as Inter won the title. He re-joins his strike partner Lautaro Martínez up front with great support in the midfield from players like Nicolò Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu. Things already look to be on the bright side as Lukaku has scored in both pre-season friendlies for Simone Inzaghi’s men. At the end of the day, I think Lukaku will find himself wearing the Inter black and blue for years to come.
2. Paulo Dybala has joined José Mourinho at Roma
José Mourinho, the self-proclaimed “special one”, has really done a number this transfer window for Roma. The biggest signing of them all, is Paulo Dybala. The 28 year-old Argentinian has spent the last eight years in Turin playing for Juventus, scoring 115 goals in 293 appearances for the Old Lady. After a messy contract dispute last year, Dybala joins on a free transfer just like goalkeeper Mile Svilar and veteran midfielder Nemanja Matić. After finishing in sixth position and winning the inaugural European Conference League title, Roma have once again found themselves in the Europa League. And now they have even more reinforcements coming as in Georginio Wijnaldum has arrived on a loan move, with a buy option, from Paris Saint-Germain. I know for sure that I’m not the only one that is excited to see Mourinho’s side in action this year.
3. The Post-Lorenzo Insigne era starts in Napoli
Lorenzo Insigne is Neapolitan through and through. That’s why it came as a surprise after 12 years at the club, with several years as the club captain, that he decided to join MLS side Toronto FC. Insigne isn’t the only player that Napoli have decided to move on from, as club legends Dries Mertens and Kalidou Koulibaly have both left from the club as well. The squad is still looking strong but I’m foreseeing a difficult transition at beginning for Luciano Spallettti with this new-look Napoli side.
4. Monza has arrived
Since the club was founded in 1912, Monza has played in the Serie B 40 times. This was the highest amount of years played in Serie B without promotion to the top flight. After 110 years, they have finally made it to Serie A. And they’ve already gone ahead and made some transfers to help them with this major transition. Veteran center back Andrea Ranocchia has arrived from Inter Milan on a free transfer while both midfielders Stefano Sensi and Mateo Pessina have arrived on loan deals. The newly promoted side is not done yet either, as they are currently in negotiations with Arsenal center-half Pablo Marí for a loan deal with an option to buy (would be triggered immediately if Monza were to stay up). I would love to see them bring back Mario Balotelli (the Italian striker scored 6 goals in 14 games for them during the 2020/21 season), but we’ll have to wait and see what their next business decision is.
5. Charles de Ketelaere joins A.C. Milan
Belgians are really leaving their mark in the Serie A. Charles de Ketelaere, the former Club Brugge striker, has joined A.C. Milan on a five-year deal. I picked de Ketelaere as one of my five players destined for a breakout season and Milan spending $36.8 million on him just prove my point. The young Belgian will join fellow countrymen Divock Origi and Alexis Saelemaekers for the Rossoneri. The young players in that club have developed incredibly (Rafael Leão, Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernández and Brahim Diaz) and I expect de Ketelaere to have that some type of progression. The future is very bright for this young man and I expect him to be the source of a lot of goal scoring opportunities this year.
YSN 2022/23 Serie A Predictions
- Inter Milan
- A.C. Milan
- Juventus
- Roma
- Napoli
- Atalanta
- Fiorentina
- Lazio
- Torino
- Verona
- Sampdoria
- Udinese
- Sassuolo
- Bologna
- Spezia
- Empoli
- Monza
- Salernitana
- Lecce
- Cremonese
Like I stated earlier in the article, Serie A is in a great place right now. That top four could go any way for all four of those teams. Mourinho has Roma looking like a dark horse to win it all, Juventus with Di Maria and Pogba (when he returns) will be lethal and both the Milan sides are looking to run it back with even more talent. However, I already see another honeymoon type season for Inter Milan and Romelu Lukaku. It just makes sense for the Belgian to stay with the Nerazzurri. It is where he fits and it is where he is loved. Although they missed out on the Scudetto last season, they did manage to get their hands on the Coppa Italia trophy. I think it will once again be a close race, but I don’t know if it will get to the final match day again. May God bless the world of football. We are in for a beautiful season. This is YSN, until next time, signing out.
