Transfer business overview
A strange piece of business saw Inter Milan exercise their option of buying Romanian under 21 goalkeeper Ionut Radu before loaning him back to Genoa for the season. Radu is considered a possible long-term successor to Samir Handanovic in the Inter net, so they will be monitoring his progression closely.
One of Ajax’s Champions League semi-final heroes, Lasse Schone, who scored that free-kick against Real Madrid, signed for £1.5 million. The Danish midfielder received a warm welcome from the Rossoblu faithful when he landed for his medical last month.
Columbian veteran centre back Cristian Zapata joined from AC Milan to steady up the defence, while the Italian U21 striker Andrea Pinamonti arrived on loan from Milan's cross-town rivals Inter.
The unpredictable attacking midfielder Riccardo Saponara will have a point to prove after joining on loan from Fiorentina. Saponara spent last season on loan at rivals Sampdoria but has already hit the ground running, scoring in his sides 4 – 1 victory over Imolse in the third round of the Copa Italia.
Manager
Aurelio Andreazzoli has spent most of his career as an assistant on the bench at AS Roma but he took charge of Empoli in 2017/18 and guided them to the Serie B title. He remained in charge last season but was sacked in November, to be then reappointed in March. Empoli were eventually relegated on the final day when they lost to Inter at San Siro but they came within a fraction of equalising late on, that would have seen them survive (at the expense of Genoa).
Key Player
The Argentine centre back Cristian Romero could be his sides key man this season. Romero joined Serie A champions Juventus this summer but was loaned back for the duration of the season. He will be keen to impress knowing Juventus will have an eye on his performances, although it remains to be seen whether at such a young age (21) he will be able to handle the pressure and become the leader of the side.
One for the Future
Pinamonti scored 5 goals in Serie A last season for lowly Frosinone and he will be keen to add more to his tally this time out. He is an agile, modern centre forward that does more than simply put the ball in the net. He can hold up the ball and bring others into play or run at defenders. The striker is only on loan with an option to buy although Inter do have a future buy-back clause and will be keeping an eye on his progress.
Predicted finish
After last season disastrous second half that saw them almost get relegated, Genoa will hope to make a good account of themselves this year. After some solid transfer business and with the exciting Andreazzoli at the helm, they looked good enough not to fight the drop this year.
Predicted finish 13th.