Top 5 players to watch in 2021-22 Serie A season
Serie A is a tough league! A place where all the formidable defenders assemble, this league often gifts us with competitive matches.
Even though Juventus have dominated the Italian top-flight for quite some time now, other teams, notably AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Atalanta's growth, offer a promising season that lies ahead.
Ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, Serie A saw some massive switch of players within the league and from outside as well. Some notable names have arrived to bolster the intensity of the league.
Taking things to another level, under the guidance of Antonio Conte, Inter Milan managed to grab the Scudetto last year. They achieved the feat by beating Conte's former team Juventus, who had occupied the throne for nine straight seasons before that.
With just weeks to go until the 2021-22 Serie A gets underway, let's take a look at five players to watch in Serie A this term.
Note: Expected and regular performers like Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Ciro Immobile and others are not included in the list.
#5 Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter Milan)
Hakan Çalhanoğlu joined the current Serie A champs Inter Milan from arch-rivals AC Milan on a free transfer. The transfer gifts Inter with a great addition to their midfield.
A player with immense quality and impeccable set-piece skills, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, is certain to be starting every game for his new club. The Turkish international made headlines during his Bayer Leverkusen days.
His performances for Leverkusen landed him at the San Siro in 2017, where he played over 172 matches for AC Milan. It will be exciting to see how Hakan Çalhanoğlu fares under Simone Inzaghi this season.
#4 Olivier Giroud (AC Milan)
If you compile a list of the most underrated and under-appreciated strikers in modern football, Giroud would probably be one of the top names. Giroud shot himself to fame after having a stellar tenure at Arsenal.
He was certainly considered formidable in his Arsenal days but then left the Gunners for city rivals Chelsea. Now, in an attempt to add more trophies to his collection, the Frenchman has joined AC Milan.
Before making the switch from England to Italy, Giroud said:
"The time had come to leave Chelsea and discover a new league. God wanted me to play for Milan. This is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I really believe in the project here."
It will be exciting to see Giroud deployed alongside the lethal Zlatan Ibrahimović in the upcoming Serie A season.