Jose Mauri
19 years old, midfielder, AC Milan
The young Argentine/Italian enjoyed a strong 14/15 campaign with relegated Parma featuring 32 times and scoring twice, notably against Juventus where they were able to produce the upset of the season thanks to Mauri’s only goal in the 1-0 win, describing it as “the happiest day of my life”. An ever present figure in Roberto Donadoni’s Parma side last season, Milan were quick to snap up the youngster on a four year contract once he became available.
Paulo Dybala
21 years old, attacker, Juventus
Perhaps the player with the most expectation among the crop of talent in Serie A this season. Another Argentine/Italian, Dybala was signed for a whopping 32 million + 8 million add ons for champions Juventus from Sicilian side Palermo. When asked about his heavy price tag, Dybala insisted he’s not affected, stating “I’m not thinking about it, I want to improve a lot and show my worth.”
Dybala arrived in Italy already with heavy expectation, signing for over 12 million euros. Proclaimed as the ‘new Sergio Aguero’ by the often erratic Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini back in 2012, Dybala has lived up to expectation so far scoring 13 goals and creating 10 assists last season to catch the eye of Juventus who were looking for a replacement for the departing Carlos Tevez. The two are very similar. Both are hard working attackers with great ability to control the ball in close. And how’s this for a stat, Dybala created the most crossing opportunities among forwards across the top 5 European leagues last season (188), his partner in attack, another newcomer Mario Mandzukic has scored more goals with his head than his feet (36 goals), could be a spectacular link up.
Federico Bernadeschi
21 years old, attacker, Fiorentina
A player who could certainly take many by surprise. Bernadeschi is a very, very good young attacker. Some may have only heard of him this past weekend when he scored two goals in eleven minutes for Fiorentina against the might of FC Barcelona in a friendly, Bernadeschi has spend much of his young career on loan at Crotone in Serie B where he appeared 39 times producing 12 goals. Last season he featured 7 times in Serie A scoring once for Fiorentina. Carrying the number 10 on his back, the young Italian will hopefully see many more opportunities with Paulo Sousa’s side.
Davide Zappacosta
23 years old, defender, Torino
Terrific business from Torino to acquire Zappacosta in a deal that also brought talented midfielder Daniele Baselli for a total of 10 million. Another who will carry a bit of pressure this season with the job of replacing Matteo Darmian who has left for Manchester United. The 23 year old is a hard working full back who can also play in a more forward role as a right winger. He first caught the eye for Avellino in 2011 and has since made steady progression. Zappacosta is a player who features regularly for Italy U21’s. Torino looks to be the perfect move for the Frosinone born defender as he seeks to move his way up to becoming one of the Azzurri’s first choice fullbacks.
Danilo Cataldi
20 years old, midfielder, Lazio
A player who was underutilised at the UEFA Euro U21 championships in June (where Italy managed to be eliminated in the group stage), Cataldi is an extremely talented midfielder who is often compared to Juventus playermaker Claudio Marchisio due to his long standing links with the club and playing traits. Cataldi made his Serie A debut for Lazio last season back in January and featured quite regularly from that point adding three assists and managing an average pass succession rate of 85%.
Stefano Sturaro
22 years old, midfielder, Juventus
Sturaro is someone who, if he plays his cards right, could become a Juventus midfielder for a very long time. Lacking options in midfield last season after injuries often kept out Andrea Pirlo, Kwadwo Asamoah and Romulo, Juventus sought help from the young Sturaro who was on loan and making big strides at Genoa. His six month period towards the end of the season turned out to be very worthwhile for Juventus with Sturaro making his debut in the crucial UCL second leg in the semi final tie with Real Madrid. Sturaro even making a match saving interception after a James Rodriguez header seemed destined to end up in the net. With Arturo Vidal gone, Juventus will be looking towards a new midfield aggressor and Sturaro is just the player to bring added grunt while also possessing pretty solid ball skills.
Alessio Romagnoli
20 years old, defender, Roma
If you’ve been following the transfer market so far this off season, Alessio Romagnoli’s name would come at no surprise. The 6’2” centre back was on loan at Sampdoria last season where he featured thirty times. AC Milan have been big admirers since with new manager Sinisa Mihajlovic wanting to bring the defender back under his leadership. Milan are desperate for the youngster and are rumoured to have offered upwards of 25 million for his services. Arsenal are another club looking to make a move. If Roma manage to keep hold of him, he could form a really strong partnership in defence with Kostas Manolas.
Daniele Rugani
21 years old, defender, Juventus
Rugani is arguably Italy’s best young defender. A product of Juventus’ youth system, Rugani was always a class above moving through the ranks in Turin and has always been seen as one for the future. However, in 2015/16 he takes on more responsibility and will look to break into an extremely strong Juventus defence, quite possibly the best in Europe, such is the faith the Italian champions have in Rugani to bring him back and make him a part of the first team. The 21yr old has spent the last few seasons on loan at Empoli where he has made great progress, with 78 caps and maintaining his spot in the Italy U21’s starting lineup. Another department where Juventus often have injured players, Rugani can take his game to a very high level this season if afforded enough playing time.
Honorable mentions: Balde Keita, Godfred Donsah, Nicola Murru, Daniele Baselli, Mbaye Niang.