After Serie A gave us a first Milan title for 11 years and a first-ever piece of silverware for manager Stefano Pioli, fans of Italian football should rejoice in the season just concluded.
Sure, 2021/22 was not vintage or even close to the stellar offering it once provided.
However, the fact the standard dropped slightly meant a plateau which led to greater all-around entertainment and Serie A 2022 highlights aplenty.
Now we can look forward to more.
Despite a season in which they finished fourth and ended trophy-less, take a look at the SBOTOP Serie A betting odds for next term and you will see Juventus are already favourites to win back Italian football’s top prize.
Indeed, Inter Milan are second favourites ahead of their city rivals.
Yet both were ahead of Milan in the reckoning last summer too so the defending champions can be forgiven for thinking lightning can strike twice.
One name which keeps being linked with the newly-crowned champions, who will say goodbye to Franck Kessie – Barcelona are his expected destination – when his contract expires next month, is Noa Lang who has confirmed he is ready to leave Club Brugge of Belgium.
The Dutch winger will turn 23 later this week and has also been linked with a trio of English club in Leeds United, Everton, Aston Villa.
Respectfully, though, none of them have the pull right now of Milan, who are reportedly also in negotiations with Brugge for Lang’s teammate Charles De Ketelaere.
With striker Divock Origi coming in on a free transfer, Renato Sanches likely to arrive and Sven Botman also being strongly tipped to move to the Rossoneri, the squad will have more depth, although it would be a blow if captain Alessio Romagnoli departs.
He certainly appears to be on the verge of leaving when, like Kessie, his contract also expires at the end of the month.
Across the city, the one thing that pushed Inter fans to the edge last summer was the departure of the man who had fired them to the 2021 title.
Romelu Lukaku’s sale to Chelsea, hot on the heels of the exit of manager Antonio Conte and just days after it was confirmed Belgium’s all-time leading goalscorer was staying at the San Siro, led to protests.
Well guess what, Inter fans? It looks like he is on his way back to the Italian capital.
Chelsea are negotiating for Lukaku to move on loan with the possibility of Denzel Dumfries making a permanent transfer to Stamford Bridge.
The Dutch international right-back scored five goals with seven assists in 45 competitive matches and, while a good player, Inter fans would say farewell if it meant getting their goalscoring idol back.
Of course, the chances of a deal going through will hinge on how much Inter are willing to pay as a loan fee for the 29-year-old and whether they are prepared to pick up a large portion of his weekly salary.
It was to my amazement that Lukaku endured a turbulent season after joining Chelsea 10 months ago but he remains a deadly finisher.
Expect movement on that one in the next week or so.
Another man coming from England is Lukaku’s former team-mate Nemanja Matic who is set to be reunited with Jose Mourinho at Roma, themselves said to be close to signing Mehmet Zeki Çelik from Lille and tabling an offer for Lyon star Houssem Aouar.
The rumours keep coming that Juventus are open to handing Angel Di Maria a one-year deal, while, according to Tuttosport, the Bianconeri could include Merih Demiral as part of the deal to sign Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly.
It seems Napoli are struggling somewhat given that Matteo Politano has offered his services to Milan with the Italian international unhappy and his agent last week blaming the Partenopei, accusing the club of lacking faith in him.
There is so much speculation but these links seem more concrete than most.
Let us leave the final word, for now, to newly-promoted Serie A side Lecce who are closing on a loan deal for Juventus left-back Gianluca Frabotta and have recruited Assan Ceesay on a free transfer.
The Salentini have just won Serie B title and, back in the top flight for the second time since they were playing in Serie C just five years ago, have announced the arrival of striker Ceesay after his contract with FC Zurich expired.
The 28-year-old centre-forward is a Gambia international with 11 goals in 25 senior caps. A potentially key signing in their bid to beat the drop next term?
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