The January window was a bit like a season of the “Walking Dead”. We saw a very fast start with deals for Rincon, Pavoletti and Gagliardini followed by a lot of repetitive scenarios (teams haggling over loans with option to buy) before a confusing and frustrating ending with a cliff hanger. With the transfer window in China open until the end of February, we could still see some players like Hernanes and even Kalinic leave before the season ends.
 

But let’s focus on what we know- I came up with a series of questions pertaining to the top teams in Serie A. I provided the background and some insight, but it’s up to you to decide the answer… Let’s start with the current Serie A champions:

 

Did Juventus widen the gap? Juventus went into the January window assuming it was just a matter of time until Axel Witsel joined them, but a huge offer from China radically changed their plans. The bianconeri acted quickly and signed Tomas Rincon from Genoa to provide more depth to their midfield, and in the process ensured the Venezuelan player didn’t join Roma who was very interested in signing him. 


 

While the China effect on transfer market took Witsel away at the beginning of the window, Juventus is reaping the rewards now that it appears that Hernanes will join Lavezzi and Gervinho at Hebei Fortune for around 11 million euro. Considering the Brazilian midfielder’s struggles, it appeared far from a guarantee that Juventus would break even on a player they signed out of desperation in summer of 2015 after a rash of injuries to their midfield and the failed pursuit of Draxler.
 

Because of Asamoah’s decision to skip the Africa Cup, Juventus was more than happy to let Patrice Evra find a team willing to sign him for next season. The bianconeri have further depth at the left back position after Federico Mattiello decided to stay in Turin rather than leaving on loan. 
 

But the most significant moves made by Juventus during the January window will have to be judged in the long term. The bianconeri invested heavily in defender Mattia Caldara, who will stay at Atalanta until the end of next season, he’ll be ready to arrive in Turin when Juventus will have moved away from relying on the BBC trio. Juventus also defeated Milan and Napoli in the sweepstakes for talented Ascoli winger Riccardo Orsolini, who could end up being a very good consolation prize should Juve fail to ever convince Berardi to join them.

Will Inter continue to make quality signings after Gagliardini’s arrival? I’m definitely not surprised that all the debates on if Inter overpaid for Roberto Gagliardini ended after a string of strong performances by the former Atalanta midfielder. Especially when you have Suning’s financial resources, transfer fees only matter if a player flops and Gagliardini has proven to be a very intriguing addition.


 

Next summer we should expect to see Inter continue their efforts to build a worthy challenger to Juventus. As manager Stefano Pioli recently stated, the Financial Fair Play restrictions are expected to be eased next summer and the nerazzurri feel great about their chances of landing both Kostas Manolas and Ricardo Rodriguez- two players that have been linked to Premier League clubs as well as Paris St Germain.
 

In addition to improving the defence, Inter will also monitor the situation of three big name Italian players in Marco Verratti (far from a guarantee he’ll leave PSG though), Federico Bernardeschi and Domenico Berardi.
 

Will the January window be remember as Milan’s lowest moment on transfer market? In the past few weeks, Milan had to wait for Everton to acquire multiple players in order to land Deulofeu on a straight loan with no option to buy, wait for Marseille and Genoa to reach an agreement on the terms of the option to buy Ocampos, and finally the rossoneri gave Caceres a lengthy medical (which he passed making him more appealing to other clubs) only to see him turn down their offer. Now I know Galliani rightfully gets a lot of crap for Bertolacci, Luiz Adriano and the fact he travels so much without completing many deals, but at some point we have to admit it’s very hard to have a successful transfer window with very limited funds.

All things considered adding Ocampos, Deulofeu and a good mentor for Donnarumma in Marco Storari is a pretty good haul for a January window to complete with strict financial parameters- but we all know these aren’t the moves that will make Milan great again. On the bright side, Milan essentially has Pasalic, Deulofeu and Ocampos on extended try outs so they can see first-hand how they fit in Montella’s system before making an offer to buy them.  
 

Will the best defence is a good offence mantra work for Torino?  Sinisa Mihajlovic has a well-deserved reputation as a defensive minded coach, but since arriving at Torino he’s been given everything needed for a an image makeover. The granata sold three defensive starters last summer, and so far have yet to acquire a center back remotely comparable to former captain Kamil Glik.
 

While Torino did make a run at acquiring Matias Silvestre, a player Mihajlovic managed at Sampdoria, their only defensive reinforcement was Carlao, a 31 year old who arrives from APOEL. Torino will keep banking on outscoring their opposition- they added Juan Iturbe on loan with option to buy, and as part of the deal they had the added bonus of redeeming Iago Falque for 7 million, well below his market value based on his recent performances. 

Can Roma ensure their best players don’t join Serie A rivals? The giallorossi went into the January window looking to bring more depth to their midfield and finding a replacement for Mohamed Salah. Things didn’t go as planned after Juventus swooped in and signed Tomas Rincon, and because Roma wasn’t able to put together a convincing bid to Sassuolo for Gregory Defrel.
 

On the bright side, Roma was able to land Clement Grenier on a value deal. Not long ago he was considered to be the heir apparent for Pjanic at Lyon, and now he’ll get to relaunch his career while trying to replace the Bosnian midfielder in Italy’s capital. But the bigger question for Roma is still the same- can they keep their best players long term?

It feels like just a matter of time until Kostas Manolas leaves, and while it may have been easier to digest seeing him join a Premier League club, it now looks likely that the talented Greek defender will join Inter in the summer. This is a concerning trend, you could chalk up Pjanic going to Juventus because he had an exit clause, but this January Roma was open to letting Paredes join the bianconeri as long as they met their price which foreshadows the Manolas move.
 

Will Napoli regret swapping Gabbiadini for Pavoletti? I have always had a soft spot for Gabbiadini since his magical left foot gave me flashbacks to a young Bobo Vieri. But the injury to Arkadiusz Milik handed him a golden opportunity that he failed to capitalize on- if you can’t score regularly in Sarri’s system playing with Hamsik, Callejon, Jorginho and either Insigne or Mertens there is something wrong.


 

At least Napoli proved once again that they’re tough negotiators by holding out until the last day of the window to get a good return on Gabbiadini and they ended up receiving slightly more than they spent to acquire Leornardo Pavoletti. The former Genoa striker is however, a bit older than the type of player Napoli invests heavily in, so he won’t have much resale value- the partenopei are banking on the fact he appears to be a more natural fit in Sarri’s system than Gabbiadini. But there is some potential for buyer’s remorse especially if Gabbiadini ends the streak of Serie A strikers struggling in Premier League.
 

Will Fiorentina relaunch Sportiello and Saponara? The Tuscan club had a sneakily good winter window. They were able to hold on to Kalinic and Borja Valero despite huge offers from China, whilst acquiring Marco Sportiello and Riccardo Saponara on loan with option to buy deals that are considerably below what the market value for the two players was last summer.
 

Sportiello had been previously scouted by Liverpool and was considered the heir apparent to Pepe Reina at Napoli, but a difficult half season at Atalanta during which he clashed with manager Gasperini, made him very available. Fiorentina is hoping that Sportiello regains his form and eventually overtakes Tatarusanu as the long term starter. 


 

Just last summer Saponara was linked to Zenit for a reported transfer fee of 15 million euro, Fiorentina ended up acquiring him for about 60% of that amount- the former Milan prospect joins a talented group of Italian offensive weapons that already features Bernardeschi and Chiesa. Saponara will at first get the few minutes that Zarate and Ilicic previously received, he’ll look to relaunch his career at the age of 25.
 

Will Lazio regret moving their “oggetti misteriosi”? While Walter Sabatini had the best reputation when it came to discovering talents abroad (Manolas, Lamela, Marquinhos), cross town rivals Lazio have also had their fair share of homeruns. Felipe Anderson, De Vrij, Keita and Milinkovic Savic form an impressive nucleus and will likely turn over huge profits for the club in years to come.
 

But Lazio has also had their fair share of misses with international scouting and in January they decided to cut bait with three players. The biancocelesti sent midfielder Moritz Leitner to Augsburg just six months after signing him and shipped off Kishna to Lille as well as Ravel Morrison to QPR.


 

Leitner, Kishna and especially Ravel Morrison will be remembered more as “oggetti misteriosi” (mysterious objects) than flat out busts since they never actually got a chance to show fans what they could do on the pitch. Lazio may regret giving up on Kishna and Morrison should they sell Keita and/or Felipe Anderson next summer and struggle to find adequate replacements. 


David Amoyal is the manager of the English page on Gianluca Di Marzio's website where he also writes weekly articles. David covers transfer news for ESPN, and has appeared on numerous radio shows on Sirius XM in the US as well as TalkSport in the UK. David is the former editor in chief of Vavel USA and his articles have been featured in many sites around the world. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidAmoyal