Defenders have been dominating the Serie A 2022 news over the past few days with two headline departures moving on to their new clubs.
Serie A has lost two of its biggest stars following the departure of Kalidou Koulibaly to Chelsea from Napoli, and Matthijs de Ligt to Bayern Munich from Juventus. Despite this transfer I’d say Juve look in better shape to break the Milan cycle of Scudetto wins this year and the odds back the Bianconeri for a top-two finish at least.
But De Ligt has highlighted his and the club’s lack of progress for his decision to move to Germany.
That’s some statement from a 22-year-old who is known to be one of the best in the business already!
Anyhow, I Bianconeri have reacted quickly to the loss of their Dutch defender and have swooped to sign Gleison Bremer from city rivals Torino. Here at SBOTOP we picked out the 25-year-old as one of Serie A’s best defenders in the 2021/22 campaign. He’s the complete package, big and strong at 6ft 2in, with great positional sense and bags of pace.
The centre-back looked like he was on the way to Inter Milan but the Old Lady was quick out of the blocks to strike a deal, agreeing a price of 40m Euros with 7m add-ons and a salary approaching 5m Euros for the player. He’s left Torino’s training camp and the transfer is scheduled to be completed on Wednesday.
Il Toro fans had become used to the idea of Bremer going and were okay with the prospect of him leaving Ivan Juric’s side and moving to Milan, but a switch to Juventus?
That has not gone down well.
Torino fans have taken to social media to vent their disgust and Bremer has changed his account settings to block new comments.
I guess the Torino fans will get over it…in time.
Meanwhile Juventus have been linked with another signing, this time a midfielder with experience in Serie A. Paris Saint-Germain player Leandro Paredes is likely to be offloaded by the Parisiens to help them balance their books and Italian press has reported I Bianconeri to have a serious interest.
The 28-year-old former Roma star has 44 caps for Argentina and was voted in the Best 11 team at the 2019 Copa America.
PSG want around 30m Euros for their man who is said to be keen on a move back to Italy.
Milan look to replace Romagnoli
Milan’s hopes of retaining the Scudetto are relatively slim, according to the pre-season Serie A 2022 betting odds; they are well in the chase but trailing Inter Milan and Juventus. But there is yet a ball to be kicked of course and Stefano Pioli has a squad capable of staying the course. But the Rossoneri too are preparing for life without one of their most important defenders.
Former skipper Alessio Romagnoli has departed the San Siro, signing a five-year deal with Lazio and now Pioli is on the hunt for a replacement. He has been tracking Eintracht Frankfurt’s Evan Ndicka and Tottenham star Japhet Tanganga. At 22, Ndicka has more club experience than Tanganga despite being a year younger, he has played 104 times for Frankfurt, scoring nine goals. Meanwhile Tanganga has made just 23 appearances for Spurs and the England U21 international might be easier to sign.
Whichever player arrives in Milan, he has big shoes to fill and Pioli may yet look for a more experienced defender.
Dybala set to make Roma debut
Argentine star Paulo Dybala has left Juventus, as expected this summer, and it is Roma who have won the three-way battle for the 28-year-old striker’s signature.
Napoli and Inter Milan both tried to lure Dybala but he chose to work with Roma boss Jose Mourinho, who believes he can get the best out of the player, nicknamed La Joya (The Jewel) and known for his speed agility and superb creative skills. He can play as a forward or an attacking midfielder through the middle or out wide.
Mourinho will welcome his versatility and his impressive goal return, 82 in 210 appearances for I Bianconeri, proves he knows where the net is!
Dybala has agreed a three-year deal in Rome and he watched his new team-mates lose 3-2 to Sporting Lisbon in a friendly on Tuesday. He was spotted in the Algarve Stadium wearing a Roma T-Shirt and, on Saturday, he’ll pull on the Giallorossi shirt for the first time in a pre-season friendly against Nice. This is the kind of signing which could lift Roma into the top four.
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