The 2024/25 Serie A season will kick off on Aug. 17 with the likes of Inter Milan and AC Milan in action, and after winning the league by nearly 20 points, the Nerazzurri will be out to achieve even more, perhaps looking to get back to the Champions League Final.
Serie A underwent a lot of turnover this past summer, mainly from perennial disappointments Juventus, who finally axed Max Allegri and replaced him with Thiago Motta – the darling manager who nearly led fairytale side Bologna to the Champions League.
Although the summer 2024 transfer window in Serie A is far from settled with players like Federico Chiesa and Tammy Abraham mired in intraleague transfer rumors, enough deals have been made so that we can fairly take stock of the window thus far.
Here is a look at every team’s best transfer move of summer 2024 thus far. Note that not every team did make the list, and that’s because they didn’t make a move worth praising significantly thus far.
Inter Milan
Piotr Zelenski is the established Serie A player and is a solid free transfer to add to an already-loaded Inter Milan midfield, but I have to say that the Mehdi Taremi free acquisition from FC Porto even more.
If you have heard of Taremi, you probably know him for one of three things. It could be because he is the best Iranian player since Ali Daei, maybe it was this exact transfer saga with Inter, or maybe it was that bicycle kick he scored in the Champions League against Chelsea.
Taremi is a brilliant signing for Inter, because he is legitimately one of the best all-around strikers and a perfect fit for the profile of No. 9 Inter likes under Simone Inzaghi, even though he doesn’t receive much hype since he plays outside Europe’s top five leagues.
With two seasons of at least 20 goals and two seasons with double-digit assists, Taremi simply produces. Few strikers are as good at creating chances for themselves or others as Taremi is, and he is a great finisher to boot.
AC Milan
Well, AC Milan got their hands on an even better striker, and he was a bargain, too, as the Rossoneri only needed to spend 13 million euros to sign Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid due to a release clause.
Morata is a proven talent, including in Serie A, as he once led Juventus to a Champions League Final and then returned for a second stint as Cristiano Ronaldo’s main supplier of chances.
It’s honestly impossible to name a more well-rounded striker than Morata, who can provide the same dual goal-scoring and assist-providing ability that Olivier Giroud brought to the table in his final season in Milan before moving to MLS.
Juventus
There are a few legitimate candidates to be called Juve’s best signing of the summer 2024 transfer window, but if you’ve been paying close attention to Serie A over the past two seasons, then you really have to go with Monza goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio.
For 20 million euros, Juventus are signing the second-best goalkeeper in Serie A after Inter Milan’s Yann Sommer, who has quite literally been established as a world-class keeper for years.
Di Gregorio was a breakout star in 2022/23 upon Monza’s promotion to the top flight, saving 72.5 percent of the shots he faced. Then last season, he improved even more with a save percentage of 79.9 to rank third in Serie A.
Better yet, Di Gregorio was first among all players in Europe’s top five leagues in post-shot expected goals prevented. So while Wojciech Szczesny is still going strong, the numbers indicate Di Gregorio gives Juventus their best shot at winning in 2024/25.
Atalanta
Atalanta secured Champions League football last season behind great seasons from the attacking trio of Charles De Ketelaere, Ademola Lookman, and Gianluca Scamacca.
CDK’s signing was basically sealed before the window began, so the big new acquisition is another reclamation project in the attack akin to this trio – and it is the most ambitious one yet.
After spending time with Galatasaray, Aston Villa are loaning Nicolo Zaniolo again, as the former top Roma prospect will be working with the magical Gian Piero Gasperini as part of an exciting attack in Bergamo.
Atalanta famously torched a previously undefeated Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League Final, having destroyed Liverpool before that in the semis. If Zaniolo can focus under Gasperini and show that he has improved by leaps and bounds mentally, the physical and technical attributes could give Atalanta one of the biggest signings of the summer 2024 window.
Bologna
Bologna lost two of the biggest talents in Serie A, Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori, to Premier League powerhouses, but the Rossoblu can still be a threat in the Italian top flight next season, even without new Juventus coach Thiago Motta.
Top young Empoli standout Nicolo Cambiaghi is the most promising new face in Bologna, as the attacking midfielder is an absolute nightmare to defend in tight spaces, joining the club for a modest 10 million euro fee.
Roma
You can pick your poison between former Girona striker Artem Dovbyk, Juventus talent Matias Soule, and even Angelino and Enzo Le Fee – two of the top players in Europe in their respective roles.
But the advantage should go to Soule, who, for under 30 million euros, comes to Rome as one of the biggest breakout stars in Italian football and was a legitimate Serie A MVP candidate in the first half of the season for Frosinone.
Soule is a slick, left-footed playmaker with a great eye for goal coming off the right-hand side, and something tells me he and Paulo Dybala are going to have a telepathic connection around their new big No. 9 from the Ukraine, Dovbyk.
Fiorentina
Moise Kean might be the biggest name coming to Firenze this year, but Andrea Colpani is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best signing Fiorentina are making this summer and one of the best playmakers in Italian football.
If Michele Di Gregorio was Monza’s best overall player, then Colpani was most definitely their main standout in the outfield. Colpani scored 8 goals with 4 assists and brings some much-needed skill to the final third for a Fiorentina side that continues to struggle with consistent end product.
Entering the prime of his career at the age of 25, Colpani will cost Fiorentina under 20 million euros, even if all the financial conditions of the transfer are met.
Torino
A free signing from Southampton, Che Adams joins a resurgent Duvan Zapata to form one of the better striker partnerships in Serie A. The 28-year-old Premier League veteran went down to the Championship with the Saints last season, lighting it up to the tune up 16 goals and 4 assists.
Napoli
After the most disappointing season of any Serie A side – going from Scudetto winners to falling out of European football entirely – Napoli signed one of the best players in Serie A, winning the Alessandro Buongiorno sweepstakes.
The best defender in the league last season, Buongiorno was wanted by Juventus and big clubs in the Premier League, but he chose Napoli, effectively replacing Kim Min-jae as the next breakout, potentially world-class central defender in the city.
Buongiorno averaged 2.4 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game with just 0.3 dribbles completed allowed, even scoring three goals for Torino. If that production holds, we may have to start a conversation about where Buongiorno ranks among the best center backs in the world.
Genoa
A promising 24-year-old talent, Vitinha averaged 1.8 key passes and 1.7 dribbles completed per 90 minutes as a rotational player for Marseille last season, and he joins Genoa as their next big investment at striker; they already have two of the most talented forwards in Serie A in Mateo Retegui and 2023/24 breakout start Albert Gudmundsson.
It looks like Vitinha could be yet another hidden gem captured by Genoa, though they are paying a pretty penny to sign him at 16 million euros. For Genoa, that’s a sizeable investment.
Monza
Some high-profile players have left Monza this summer, but they secured the free-agent signing of AC Milan prospect Daniel Maldini. Yes, he is the son of that Maldini. There is no better place for the 22-year-old attacker to land than Monza; they love to give chances to talents.
Lecce
A former top prospect for Bayern Munich, Christian Fruchtl is back in a top-five European League after two seasons in Austria, and the 6’4″ goalkeeper is hoping to latch on as a starter in Serie A for Lecce.
Signed for just one million euros, Fruchtl is still only 24 years old, but if Wladimiro Falcone plays like he did in the 2022/23 season, the German may not have an opening to start for Lecce despite a solid 2023/24 season for Austria Wien.
Udinese
Although Real Madrid fans won’t like Iker Bravo for the way he left the club, though he did leave the door open for a return to the club after getting minutes elsewhere.
Well, Bravo has a great opportunity to shine at Udinese, which has historically proven to be a haven for attacking talents, including former Barcelona star Alexis Sanchez.
Bravo just picked up the U19 European Championship MVP for a victorious Spain, and that tells you what you need to know about the 19-year-old former Bayer Leverkusen man’s talent.
Udinese could be getting one of the best young players in Serie A, and after how well he played at the Euros, you wouldn’t put it past Bravo to be an immediate X-Factor for the Friulani. They could definitely use one.
Empoli
Another top Milan prospect made a loan move to another Serie A club this summer, and Lorenzo Colombo could get a chance to start for Empoli, who have been the friendliest team to up-and-coming young talents in Italy over the past couple of seasons since their return to the top flight.
Como
Cesc Fabregas-coached Como are like Monza, the new heavily-invested team looking to make waves now that they are in Serie A. No team has made more investments this summer than Como, who have added established Serie A players like Emil Audero, Gabriel Strefezza, and Andrea Belotti.
By far the biggest name to head to Como is former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Raphael Varane, who was one of the best center backs of the second half of the 2010s.
However, Varane isn’t Como’s best signing. No, that honor belongs to a center back who performed at a much higher level, 25-year-old Italian Alberto Dossena. One of the best center backs of the 2023/24 season for Cagliari, Dossena averaged nearly three combined tackles and interceptions per game and is another bargain signing for Como at less than 10 million euros.
Venezia
Owners of the sickest kits in world football, Venezia are back in Serie A, and they have signed one of the league’s top free agents in former Fiorentina starter Alfred Duncan.
The 31-year-old Ghanian defensive midfielder had two goals and five assists for the Viola last season, putting up solid defensive and creative numbers from the deep midfield. Duncan is a sure-fire starter for Venezia and could be key to their survival if he is at his best.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.