The Serie A summer transfer window officially closed on Monday night. The financial impact of COVID-19 saw the clubs limit their spending when compared to the previous summer and there was still around £686m spent by the top-flight teams on players.
Serie A Transfer round-up:
Juventus had a tough end to the previous season after the restart, but they still managed to win the Serie A title with ease, given the shortcomings of the teams behind them.
The club made the headlines as early as August when they landed the services of Arthur from Barcelona. They followed up with five more signings before Monday night’s deadline.
Alvaro Morata and Federico Chiesa standout among those. Morata returned to the Bianconeri on loan from Atletico Madrid and he is expected to take up the striker’s role vacated by Gonzalo Higuain.
Chiesa had been tipped to leave hometown club Fiorentina for a number of years and he has finally taken up a new challenge with the reigning champions on a two-year loan contract.
With three marquee signings, the Bianconeri have definitely boosted their prospects of winning the Serie A title for the tenth straight occasion. They have agreed on an optional buy-clause for both Morata and Chiesa.
Meanwhile, Inter, who finished one point behind the Bianconeri last term, signed Achraf Hakimi early on from Real Madrid for £36m, but that ended up being their major piece of business.
Unlike the Bianconeri, Antonio Conte’s side opted to go for more experienced players with Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal joining on free transfers while deadline day saw Matteo Darmian make the loan switch from Parma.
Elsewhere, AC Milan did not have the resources to spend like their rivals, but they certainly made some shrewd signings. Sandro Tonali finally signed for his boyhood club on loan from Brescia.
Jens Petter Hauge is another player to watch out for. The 20-year-old was a relatively unknown until he starred in Bodo/Glimt’s 3-2 defeat to Milan in the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
He bagged a goal and an assist during the meeting and that pacified the Rossoneri’s interest in signing him. He can regarded as a bargain for £4.5m. The Norwegian registered 17 goals and 12 assists for Bodo/Glimt in 2020.
Napoli, meanwhile, acquired the services of Victor Osimhen for a club-record £63m fee, but that was their only major acquisition apart from Tiemoue Bakayoko, who joined on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
Among the rest, Parma are definitely a club to watch out for. Fabio Liverani’s side got themselves a new team altogether with a stunning 17 signings during the course of the transfer window.
One of those was Roberto Inglese, who joined them permanently after two seasons on loan from Napoli. The 28-year-old netted only 13 goals from 44 appearances, but he had become an invaluable member of the side.
Parma made the striker their fifth-most expensive signing in their history at £16.2m. The club spent more than £10m on a single player for the first time since the 2002/03 season.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com