Seems hard to believe but we are just one month away from the transfer window. While just a few teams in Italy have much to play for in the remaining matches- mainly Empoli and Crotone in race to avoid relegation and Napoli and Roma battling for automatic entry in group stage of the Champions League- all of them are working on their shopping lists for the summer, let’s take a look at the positions of need for the top clubs in Italy, starting with the current champions: 

 

Positions of need: more options up front, youth in the midfield and wingback positions
 

The formation change that brought a more European dimension to Max Allegri’s team may have an impact on the bianconeri’s summer plans. Miralem Pjanic and Sami Khedira have both strived in the two man midfield, and have essentially relegated Claudio Marchisio to a backup role and new addition Tomas Rincon to being mainly an Instagram prop- it will be interesting to see if Juventus still goes ahead and pulls the trigger on acquiring Corentin Tolisso, even without having an immediate opening for him.
 

While Mario Mandzukic isn’t a classic winger, his work rate and grinta have been one of the key ingredients in making this more offensive formation work. Marotta and Paratici will have to decide if it makes sense to make a big financial sacrifice for a starting calibre winger like Douglas Costa or go with a more long term investment like derby della Capitale hero Balde Keita. Juventus will have to bolster their depth up front because since Marko Pjaca’s injury (he’s expected back in late fall) they haven’t had any offensive alternatives to their starters.


 

Juventus will also look to bring in a younger wing back considering that both Stephan Lichtsteiner and Dani Alves are in the twilights of their careers. For the centre back position, Juventus is set at the starter positions with Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, but they’ll likely keep Mehdi Benatia by exercising his option to buy from Bayern Munich as insurance until Mattia Caldara arrives from Atalanta in summer of 2018. Daniele Rugani’s playing time time next season is likely to increase as Andrea Barzagli continues to battle Father Time.  
 

Positions of need: depth on defence, youth in midfield, replace potential big names leaving
 

The only constant in life is change and that has certainly been true for Roma on the transfer market. Each summer it feels like the giallorossi have to replace at least one or two big names, and now they also have a new sporting director in Monchi mainly known for discovering talents and selling them for a profit. The uncertain status of manager Luciano Spalletti will also have a big impact on Roma’s plans for the summer transfer window. 
 

This summer Roma will almost certainly have to sell Kostas Manolas to balance the budget, in addition to making decisions of Daniele De Rossi whose contract expires next June and Kevin Strootman who has just one year left on his deal. Roma could bring back Lorenzo Pellegrini from Sassuolo, but the promising midfielder could follow Alessio Romagnoli’s path since he has many suitors including Milan and Juventus.


 

Despite having Federico Fazio and Antonio Rudiger, Monchi will almost certainly have to find a new centre back and then will have to decide if Alessandro Florenzi should move permanently back to the midfield or continue to serve as a jolly to be used on the right wing. Roma will also have to decide what to do with Bruno Peres and Mario Rui who have both struggled since arriving last summer.
 

Positions of need: left back, keeper, replacements for potential departures of Koulibaly and Mertens
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While Napoli has done very well in recent years on the transfer market by targeting young players with great upside- Jorginho, Koulibaly, Zielinski, Diawara, Milik and Hysaj- they have struggled to find a consistently reliable goal keeper. Now that Pepe Reina has just one year left on his contract, they’ll likely either go for a young prospect to pair with him or go with a veteran that would upgrade position immediately.


 

Napoli will almost certainly target a left back after failing to reach an agreement with Faouzi Ghoulam on an extension, and will likely have to fend off numerous suitors for their stand out centre back Kalidou Koulibaly. While Albiol has been a fairly reliable partner for the Senegalese defender, Nikola Maksimovic and Lorenzo Tonelli haven’t shown enough on Sarri’s squad to replace Koulibaly. 
 

While there’s also a lot of uncertainty with Dries Mertens, the fact that Arkadiusz Milik has returned from his knee injury and Lorenzo Insigne signed an extension gives Napoli some insurance in case the Belgian striker decides to leave. Napoli could also sacrifice one of out of Allan or Jorginho in order to find more playing time for Diawara, Rog and Zielinski.  
 

Positions of need: wingback, offensive winger, centre back 
 

I honestly thought Auslio had pulled off a very shrewd move by landing Cristian Ansaldi for Diego Laxalt and cash considerations last summer. Instead Genoa got to keep one of the most consistent left backs in Serie A while making a profit on an older player. So going into next season, Inter find themselves with two huge holes at the wing back positions despite Danielo D’Ambrosio’s improvements under manager Stefano Pioli.


 

Inter will also focus on the centre back position even after Gary Medel has played more often in the backline following Roberto Gagliardini’s arrival. Miranda has taken a step back this season, and Jeyson Murillo has not been able to consistently play as well as his first half season in Serie A. Inter will also look for another offensive winger who can be an upgrade over Antonio Candreva, since the former Lazio captain has struggled during the second half of the season. But while new players would certainly help, what Inter truly lacks is a winning mentality and stability at management positions- having Gabriele Oriali return to the club to serve as a liaison with the players is a very good first step. 
 

Positions of need: midfield, center back, midfield, wingback, midfield, offensive winger, central striker, midfield
 

I may have gone a bit too far by listing the midfield four times for Milan, but that is certainly where they have the biggest margin for improvement. By signing Alessio Romangnoli and launching Gigio Donnarumma, Galliani at least left some building blocks for the defence, but his expensive acquisition in the midfield Andrea Bertolacci has been a massive bust, and while Manuel Locatelli has shown some flashes, for Milan to contend for a Champions League spot next season, he probably can’t be a regular starter.
 

Milan will try to keep both Mario Pasalic and Gerard Delofeu despite not having a formal option to buy them, and while they have been valuable players this season, they can’t be more than complimentary pieces if Milan wants to take a significant step forward. With Mattia De Sciglio expected to be sold, Milan will definitely target a new left back while also looking to upgrade at the centre back position by finding a permanent partner for Romagnoli rather than mixing and matching with Zapata and Paletta. 


 

Montella will then have to decide if Jack Bonaventura will be used mainly as a midfielder or offensive winger once he returns from injury and Milan will likely target a central striker better suited for the former Fiorentina’s manager style of play. New directors Fassone and Mirabelli could try to follow the blue print Juventus used during Antonio Conte’s first season at the club- target proven Serie A players who can have an immediate impact.



David Amoyal