Players to watch in Serie A during the January transfer window
While it’s rare to see teams making huge investments in January, smart sporting directors are always looking to find an intriguing opportunity- let’s take a look at some players who could be on the move this January, with a comparison to a deal from previous transfer windows:
Frank Kessie: after an excellent season on loan at Cesena, the 19 year old Ivorian midfielder has taken Serie A by storm- he’s this year’s version of Amadou Diawara, another player who despite a very young age, showed his considerable worth during his first season in Italy’s top league.
Kessie has been on Juventus and Napoli’s radar for quite some time, but with many Premier League clubs interested in him, his price is likely to go above what they’re willing to pay. Unlike Diawara who went to Napoli after being pursued by Chelsea and Bayern Munich, it’s likely that Kessie will go straight to a foreign league for a large offer.
Mattia Caldara & Roberto Gagliardini: while Kessie could leave as soon as January, it’s almost certain that Atalanta will be able to hold on to their two other young jewels at least until the end of the season. Juventus has all but closed the deal to acquire center back Caldara, who will likely stay at Atalanta through the 2017/18 season, by then Andrea Barzagli will likely be retired- Caldara will then form the core of the bianconeri’s defense along with Leonardo Bonucci and Daniele Rugani, two players who just signed extensions through 2011. Caldara is following Rugani’s career path by staying at a provinciale to get playing time while Juventus already owns his rights.
Roberto Gagliardini could be Juventus’ consolation prize for Frank Kessie, the talented 22 year old midfield has been a transfer target for Inter and Milan, but the bianconeri could take advantage in the delay of the deal to sell the rossoneri to Chinese investors to seal the deal before Milan has liquidity to purchase Gagliardini. The bianconeri will face stiff competition from Inter since Suning’s ownership group has reportedly tasked sporting director Ausilio with landing Gagliardini, but Marotta and Paratici can also leverage their great relationship with Atalanta.
Carlos Bacca: the delay with the closing of the deal to sell Milan to new investors could also have an impact on the Colombian striker’s future. Despite an impressive goal average and fact he’s never hid fact he grew up as a Milanista, Bacca continues to give the impression he has never fully fit in with the rossoneri- a perception that was reinforced when he visited his former teammates at Sevilla while he was recovering from an injury rather than watching Milan play against Empoli.
Bacca’s age and value on the transfer market could make him the sacrificial lamb in a January transfer window where Milan will have to sell before they buy. The vast majority of Milan’s other core players are considerably younger than Bacca, so he maybe more valuable to raise funds to bolster the squad with players who will be in their prime when Milan is ready to compete for trophies.
Gianluca Lapadula has so far proven to be a better fit in Montella’s scheme, and Milan is now linked to Ascoli striker Riccardo Orsolini. Bacca could end up being used in the same way that Galliani flipped Fernando Torres to acquire Alessio Cerci, move a player at a position where you have depth to bolster another where you have scarcity,
Manolo Gabbiadini: just like when they signed Lorenzo Tonelli immediately after clinching a spot in the Champions League group stage, Napoli accelerated their pursuit of Leonardo Pavoletti right after qualifying for the Champions League round of 16. The striker’s transfer has been essentially confirmed by Genoa manager Ivan Juric in a recent interview, the question now is if it will have the domino effect of ending Gabbiadini’s tenure at the San Paolo stadium.
While the former Bologna striker has been linked to Stoke City and Southampton recently, Napoli will want to make sure Milik and Pavoletti are healthy enough to lead the offense in second half of the season before selling him. Gabbiadini’s agent has stated that his client is open to playing abroad and will pick his next team based on the quality of their project.
Stevan Jovetic: ever since his transfer to Manchester City in summer of 2013, the former Fiorentina striker has only scored 14 goals in league play. While many expected Jovetic to regain his form upon returning to Serie A, he now finds himself on the outside looking in at Inter- he wasn’t even selected for the match against Sassuolo.
Inter will look to move him in January, but it’s very unlikely that any club will be willing to come close to paying the 15 million euro the nerazzurri spent to redeem him from Manchester City just last August. So it will be essential for sporting director Ausilio to send him to a team where he can regain his value- the likeliest destinations are Fiorentina or Sampdoria (a club that Inter did a lot of business with last January) since the nerazzurri’s ownership group Suning doesn’t want to send Jovetic to cross town rivals Milan.
While Jovetic would probably prefer a return to Fiorentina, it’s hard to envision Inter giving the Tuscan club any discount on Jovetic’s wages after the tension between the clubs during the Salah saga. As a result Jovetic could end up at Sampdoria on loan just like Ranocchia and Dodo’ last January.
Geoffrey Kondogbia: after getting a few starts for new manager Stefano Pioli, the French midfielder now finds himself once again at the margins of Inter’s project- recently Felipe Melo is getting playing time over him. It’s likely that Kondogbia follows the path Juan Iturbe went on last January by being shipped off to a foreign club on a loan with option to buy deal.
Just like Iturbe last January, it will be nearly impossible for Inter to find a team willing to pay what is left of Kondogbia’s amortized transfer fee (around 30 million euro) so they’ll have to hope he joins a team on loan with option to buy where he can re-establish his value.
Tomas Rincon: Genoa continues to be one of the most active clubs during transfer windows, and this January they could end up losing two core players. Last year during the winter mercato, president Preziosi wasn’t afraid to sell his best player, Diego Perotti, to Roma and this year he could move Rincon as well as striker Leonardo Pavoletti.
While Roma has gotten strong performances from Kevin Strootman and plan on keeping Gerson rather than loaning him in January, new sporting director Frederic Massara will look to add some depth to a midfield that has had to deal with injuries to key players like Paredes, Florenzi and more recently Nainggolan. Massara’s predecessor Walter Sabatini often did business with Genoa, and now Rincon could follow Perotti’s path to Italy’s capital.
Rincon is a much more realistic target than Cesc Fabregas who has been linked with Roma, it’s just hard to imagine the giallorossi making such a big move with Paredes expected to come back soon from his injury. Should Rincon leave in January it’s likely we’ll see Genoa pursue Hernanes once again.
Keita Balde: the talented former Barcelona youth team product will almost certainly not extend his contract which currently expires in 2018, which could force Lazio to sell him in January while his value is still high. A few years ago, Lazio president Lotito was able to get a massive return on Hernanes who also had just one year and a half left on his contract- doing the same with Keita appears to be easier considering that the winger is still only 21.
Last January Keita was linked to Watford, and last summer while he was holding out to get a raise, there were rumors he could join Inter or Monaco- more recently he was identified as one of Milan sporting director (in waiting) Mirabelli’s top targets. But considering the delays with the closing of the deal to sell Milan, it’s possible that some team takes advantage and swoops in. Lazio does have former Ajax winger Ricardo Kishna and Luis Alberto as potential replacements for Keita.
Luis Muriel: despite the public statements from president Ferrero it’s possible that the talented Colombian striker leaves Giampaolo’s squad in January. Muriel has an exit clause of around 30 million euro and considering his strong performances this season, it’s possible a club triggers it just like when Chelsea acquired Cuadrado two Januaries ago.
With Pavoletti on his way to Napoli, it’s almost certain that if Muriel leaves it will be to play abroad. Chelsea has kicked the tires on a potential deal for Muriel, but Valencia seems to have the most momentum- Prandelli is looking to some significant additions and Muriel would likely fit in perfectly in la Liga.
@DavidAmoyal
