The Italian Football League returns to the fore, on Saturday, with the start of the new season amid a race that may be close for the title, after a season in which Napoli dominated greatly, and a dim summer transfer market for most of the major clubs.
Agence France-Presse highlights the 5 most prominent new contracts concluded by first-class clubs, “Serie A” for the 2023-2024 season:
Marcus Thuram (Inter)
Thuram follows in his father’s footsteps by moving to Italy, and bears a major offensive responsibility on his shoulders, after joining the Champions League runners-up last season, in a free transfer last month.
The 26-year-old was born in Parma, where his father and France legend, Lillian, played for 5 seasons, winning the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia in 1999, in a star-studded squad, notably the recently retired legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro.
With the departure of Bosnian Edin Dzeko and Belgian Romelu Lukaku this summer, Thuram – who scored 16 goals with Borussia Monchengladbach last season – will compete with Austrian Marko Arnautovic for a place, along with Argentine Lautaro Martinez in the center of attack.
Christian Pulisic (AC Milan)
USA star Pulisic will have some familiar faces from his old club Chelsea in Milan, joining Fikayo Tomori, France’s Olivier Giroud and England’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek in a club that is reinventing itself.
One of the club’s symbols, Paolo Maldini, was sacked, along with sports director Frederic Massara, in June, and the Lombardy team was able to conclude a series of contracts on the back of the sale of Sandro Tonali to Newcastle.
Pulisic will compete with Nigerian Samuel Chukwueze to fill the right wing position in the Rossoneri, with Portuguese star Rafael Leao on the left, while veteran striker Giroud will lead the attack.
Matteo Retegui (Genoa)
Retigi made a quick start in Genoa, returning to the elite league “Serie A” after his transfer from Argentine Boca Juniors last month, and scored two goals in the exciting victory in the Italian Cup competitions over Modena 4-3 on Friday.
The Argentine-born player will play his first match in the Italian League against Fiorentina, on Saturday, in an attempt to reserve his place as a main striker in the Italian national team.
The 24-year-old scored twice against England and Malta, in his first 3 matches for the Azzurri, after choosing to represent Italy a few months ago. He aims to retain his place in the European Championship 2024 next summer.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Milan)
Another Chelsea player chose Milan to revive his career, as England international Loftus-Cheek moved to San Siro to replace Tonali’s departure, and aims to play a bigger role after years on the sidelines at the London club.
Loftus-Cheek made his way into Chelsea’s first team from the club’s academy in 2014, but despite his physical and technical abilities, he never became a regular at his boyhood club.
He is now following in the footsteps of Tomori, a graduate of the “Blues” academy, where he will play a key role in one of the oldest clubs in Europe, as Milan reached the Champions League semi-finals last season, but he was far from the level that enabled him to win the league title in the 2021-2022 season. .
Nathan (Naples)
With the prevailing tendency to extend the contract of Nigerian stars Victor Osimhen and Georgian Khvisha Kvaratskhelia, who played a key role in Napoli winning the league title, Napoli’s biggest problem was finding a replacement for South Korean defender Kim Min-jae, after the latter’s departure to Bayern Munich.
The Brazilian Natan joined the southern team from the Brazilian Red Bull Bragantino, and the 22-year-old will be facing the challenge of filling the void of Kim, who is very popular with the Naples fans, after his brilliance last season.
2023-08-17 08:50:32
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