With the start of the 2013-2014 Serie A season just over a fortnights away, it's time to take a look at the new boys in Italy's top flight as well as their respective transactions in the transfer market.
U.S. Sassuolo
The current Serie B champions have made some excellent purchases during the summer transfer window. The likes of Jasmin Kurtic from Palermo and Francesco Acerbi from Genoa are both young players who have ample experience in Serie A which will no doubt aid the neroverdi's survival aspirations. Although, Sassuolo may have to do without Acerbi for a while as the defender recently had to undergo an emergency operation to remove a testicular tumour. Kurtic on the other hand, has looked very comfortable as a right-sided attacking midfielder and appears to be growing into his role. Incoming too, is the Romanian winger Marius Alexe, 23 and Simone Zaza, 22. Both have been impressive so far in pre-season. The former arrives at the Stadio Alberto Braglia on loan from Dinamo Bucharest after having played at the Alb-rossii since he was only 10 years old. The winger showed his qualities in the recent Trofeo TIM against Milan and Juventus, even if his finishing left something to be desired. With the signing of Alexe, it appears that Sassuolo have adequately replaced Richmond Boakye, who was instrumental to their promotion push last season. Meanwhile Zaza is coming off an impressive season with Ascoli where he scored 18 goals in 35 appearances. The young striker arrives on a co-ownership deal with Juventus.
However, the most impressive coup by Sassuolo has been their ability to retain the services of Domenico Berardi. The versatile forward has been heavily linked with a move to one of Italy's more glamourous clubs but it is looking more and more likely that the youngster will stay for at least another season at the club. Eusebio Di Francesco certainly has a very exciting and vibrant side at his disposal and I think with their style of play tailored to make the pitch as wide as possible, It will be quite the shock if Sassuolo do go down this season. Di Francesco will also want to settle some scores, as he looks to erase the memory of his previous stint in Serie A, where he managed Lecce and was sacked after just thirteen games in 2011.
Hellas Verona
Hellas Verona pushed Sassuolo all the way last season and were rewarded by gaining automatic promotion to the top flight. In Daniele Caccia they have a player who has scored regularly for the club in the year or so he's been there, he scored 24 league goals for them in Serie B last season. The gialloblu have also signed former World Cup winning striker Luca Toni, who's arrival sparked plenty of fanfare. Naturally they will hope that the big forward can find the form that saw him win the capocannoniere during his time at Fiorentina. Further down the pitch Verona have added Massimo Donati from last season's Serie A bargain bin, Palermo and Bosko Jankovic also arrives from Genoa, albeit on loan . They have also secured the services of Bulgarian goalkeeper, Nikolay Mihaylov from FC Twente.
Another interesting prospect at Hellas Verona this season is Ezequiel Cirigliano, who arrives on loan from Argentine giants River Plate on loan. The 21 year-old has been described on his Wikipedia page as a hybrid between Xavi and Javier Mascherano. Although perhaps more impressive is the fact that he's already clocked 56 appearances for River Plate at such a tender age. Like Sassuolo, they have also managed to hold on to their very own wunderkind in the shape of Italo-Brazilian midfielder Jorginho. The youngster showed glimpses of his talent last season and was reportedly the subject of a bidding war between Barclays Premier League duo Liverpool, Everton as well as A.C. Milan but it's looking more and more likely that the player will stay at the Bentegodi this coming season, which is nothing short of excellent news for Verona. The player, who is nominally deployed in a deep central midfield position but can also play in the "no. 10" role between the lines, is comparable to Juan Quintero from last season's promoted champions Pescara. Though Quintero could not stop the delfini from having a disaster of a season, he did win plenty of admirers and earned a move to F.C. Porto. But I digress. Considering the reinforcements made, I expect Andrea Mandorlini's side will have to get stuck in and remain dogged throughout the season but ultimately stave off relegation.
A.S. Livorno Calcio
Finally there's Livorno. Worryingly for fans of the amaranto, their side have not quite added to the roster as well as Sassuolo or Hellas Verona have. The only notable addition to the side is former A.S. Roma youth product Leandro Greco, who arrives from the land of his namesake after a successful spell with Oympiakos. They have, however, hung onto their top goalscorer from last season, Paulo Sérgio Betanin, or Paulinho as he's more commonly known. The Brazilian is powerful and mobile, and will be pivotal in ensuring Livorno's top-flight status. Also coming in, albeit on loan, is Inter's primavera and Azzurini goalkeeper, Francesco Bardi. The youngster is expected to take his place between the sticks for Livorno as first choice next season after Vincenzo Fiorillo returned to Sampdoria for the coming season. It will no doubt be a learning curve for the young shot stopper but all things considered, one that I believe Bardi will grow from, because as anyone who watched the U-21 European Championships will tell you, the kid's got talent.
Livorno will also be without the Ghanain powerhouse Alfred Duncan who's returned back to Inter after impressive displays at the Stadio Armando Picchi last season. Livorno relied on their good relationship with the likes of Sampdoria and Inter to loan players to them in their promotion push last season but now these players are heading back to their parent clubs leaving the amaranto high and dry. Their situation is not too dissimilar to Pescara's last season. Inactivity in the transfer market, a thin squad and a young goalkeeper expected to make the grade to boot, the smart money says that Livorno are favourites to go down. So are there any positives? Well for one Livorno under Davide Nicola played some excellent, exciting football last season and who knows with a bit of luck (ok, plenty of luck) they might just beat the drop - and the lopsided odds already set against them!