5 contenders for Serie A signing of the season
Inter Milan made a huge statement by signing Antonio Conte as their manager ahead of the 2019/20 season. The Nerazzurri were out to reclaim their crown, which has been with Juventus for the past eight years.
The Bianconeri, on the other hand, made moves of their own, appointing Maurizio Sarri as head coach and moving away from Massimiliano Allegri's pragmatic system in the process.
Elsewhere, Simone Inzaghi's Lazio quietly made their own arrangements for the season in the hopes of finally mounting a European challenge. AS Roma and AC Milan also changed their respective coaches, thus setting the stage for the most exciting Italian league season in ages.
And it was exciting until a global pandemic shut the league down temporarily. Before that, however, the Serie A had given the fans plenty to talk about.
In this article, we focus on players - new signings, in particular - who have proven to be excellent acquisitions for their respective clubs.
#1 Dejan Kulusevski (Parma; on loan from Juventus)
In January 2020, Juventus fought off interest from Serie A rivals Inter Milan, as well as other big European clubs, to sign winger Dejan Kulusevski from Atalanta. The 19-year-old had been the breakout young performer of the season heading into the transfer window, which prompted Juventus to spend a whopping €35 million on his services.
Atalanta loaned out Kulusevski to Parma before the start of the season, thereby allowing him to gain some exposure. The Swede had been a part of Atalanta's youth setup since 2016 but had only made three appearances for La Dea up until that point.
It didn't take Kulusevski too long to cement a spot in Parma's starting lineup, following a string of remarkable performances early in the season. By December 2019, the youngster had four goals and seven assists to his name, putting a host of top European clubs on high alert.
Apart from the 12 goals he's netted, he has also played 21 key passes and is ranked third in the league in that category. Furthermore, Kulusevski has also run an average of almost 12 kilometres per game, which is second in the league only to Marcelo Brozovic.