The festive season is here, which can only mean one thing: the January transfer market is just around the corner. The winter window is usually thought of as a dangerous time to do business, and you don’t need to look far to find examples of rushed or reckless deals that haven’t panned out.
'Tis the season...
You never know what you’re going to get with Morrison, and while he’s failed to make any impact at Lazio in the last three years, his talent is undisputed. The former West Ham midfielder wants to go home and isn’t even registered in Lazio’s squad this season – his last appearance for the Roman club came in April 2016.
Still just 25, he could be worth a punt with his contract expiring next summer and his club unlikely to offer much resistance. The relationship by now is broken, sealed by Morrison’s latest social media outburst last week: “Lazio – history club & players amazing. Fans unbelievable support. Organisation…”
Mehdi Benatia (Juventus)
Benatia hasn’t been shy about his unhappiness at being behind Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini in the Juventus pecking order. “I’m struggling playing a game every now and then,” he told Italian newspaper La Stampa. Asked about January, the former Bayern Munich defender said: “Let’s see what happens, how I’m used, if Juve still need me, if Allegri wants me…”
Martin Caceres (Lazio)
Caceres was expected to feature more regularly for Lazio this season after a summer starring at the World Cup with Uruguay, but his chances have been limited and the 31-year-old – who made one appearance on loan at Southampton in 2016/17 – now appears to be on his way out of Rome.
Christian Kouame (Genoa)
Kouame is now beginning to get the credit he deserves for his performances at Genoa this season, after free-scoring strike partner Krzysztof Piatek hogged the headlines early on. The 21-year-old Ivorian has frequently outshone his strike partner since arriving from Cittadella in the Italian second tier this summer, while club president Enrico Preziosi has called him ‘a star with enormous room for improvement’.
Three goals and four assists only tell part of the story, and although the Grifone won’t let him go easily and his agent has played down transfer talk, English clubs could do worse than test the club’s resolve for their starlet.
Andrea Ranocchia (Inter)
Some blunders in the past have made many write off Ranocchia’s ability at the top level, but the 30-year-old can certainly offer a lot more than warming Inter’s bench until his contract runs out next summer.
‘The Frog’ is yet to play a single minute in any competition for Inter this season, so the club are unlikely to strongly resist an offer.
Manuel Lazzari (SPAL)
SPAL’s dynamic wing-back has been one of Italy’s best in his role this season and was rewarded with his Azzurri debut in October. Since then, speculation has been fierce and the club have set a price of £18m for their man, while insisting he won’t be leaving Ferrara in January.
Robin Gosens (Atalanta)
Gosens is just the latest player to have thrived under Gian Piero Gasperini, with WhoScored.com ranking him as the 10th best-performing player in Serie A this season. The German left-back signed from Heracles last summer and has impressed in defence and attack on the left of Atalanta’s 3-4-3 system.
While La Dea won’t be wanting to sell, they are a club with a successful policy of developing players and then profiting from them. Given they spent under €1m for his services less than 18 months ago, an eight-figure sum might be enough to satisfy everyone.
One of Italy’s rising stars, Kean has struggled to continue his development at Juventus with Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic ahead of him in the queue.
The 18-year-old won his senior Italy debut in November and, although he has amassed just one minute of game time in the league this season, the Old Lady are set to hand him a new deal. A permanent transfer therefore looks unlikely, but Kean could be a great option for a loan swoop particularly given the comments of his brother last month, who said: “I don’t think Moise will stay in Italy; in January he’d like to go and try a different league”.
Just as his time at Milan looked to be petering out, Abate has demonstrated his ability again recently. The 32-year-old benefited from an injury crisis to step into an unfamiliar centre-back role and captain the side through a difficult period in impressive fashion.
Known for his pace as a right-back, Abate has made almost 300 Rossoneri appearances but his contract is expiring next summer and he has dropped behind Davide Calabria in the pecking order. His recent renaissance could tempt the club to offer an extension, but the combination of versatility, experience and leadership may also attract attention in January and make him an intelligent – and inexpensive – piece of business.
