The Serie A stars who could be on their way to the Premier League

Largely due to the arrival of five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus over the summer in a deal worth up to £100million, it appears there is a newfound buzz around Serie A.

With The Old Lady tipped to be a contender in this year’s Champions League and Napoli still impressing under Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian top-flight is once again being linked as a possible destination for some of world football’s biggest names.

Although Zlatan Ibrahimović’s potential move to AC Milan has fallen through, it appears that a few Italian based stars are attracting interest from some of the Premier League’s most prestigious sides.

So, with the January transfer window on the horizon, who are the Serie A stars that could be on their way to England:

 

Suso – AC Milan

While some may remember Suso as the Liverpool misfit who left Anfield for just £1million back in 2015, it has been quite the turnaround for the 25-year-old.

With Gennaro Gattuso eyeing up a return to the Champions League for AC Milan, their Spanish forward has been arguably Serie A’s surprise package this season.

Operating off the right-hand side of Milan’s attacking quartet, Suso has begun to blossom out in Italy after making just 21 appearances at Anfield.

Already picking up four goals and eight assists in his 15 Serie A appearances this season, no player in Italy’s top-tier has been directly involved in more goals than the three-cap Spanish international.

Let's celebrate Suso's birthday by watching his top 5 goals scored in the Red&Black ⚽🎂
Per festeggiare il suo compleanno, abbiamo selezionato 5 splendide reti realizzate da @suso30oficial in rossonero ⚽🎂 pic.twitter.com/2xpOkbXTcA

— AC Milan (@acmilan) November 19, 2018

Now firmly cementing his spot as I Rossoneri’s talisman, only Atalanta’s Alejandro Gomez and Juventus playmaker Miralem Pjanic are making more than Suso’s 2.8 key passes per game.

While he might have signed a new contract at the San Siro until 2022 and the Milan board announcing they have no intentions to sell, it appears that Suso’s former employers are ready to test their resolve.

A testament to the Spaniard’s transformation during his three years in Serie A, it has been heavily reported that Jurgen Klopp could be lining up a £40million swoop at for the AC ace.

With it no secret that Liverpool are in the market for a creative midfielder in January, could the Reds tempt Suso to make a return to the Premier League?

 

Kalidou Koulibaly – Napoli

While Napoli’s 1-0 defeat at Anfield on Tuesday may have seen them fail to make the knockout stage of this year’s Champions League, Kalidou Koulibaly only enhanced his burgeoning reputation

Despite conceding to Mohamed Salah, something every defender in the Premier League has done at some point, the 6’4″ colossus is widely regarded to be the best central defender in Europe.

Starting all 21 of Napoli’s games across all competitions, the Senegal international is reportedly topping many a January wishlist.

Renowned for his ability to organize and control the Blues’ back four, the 27-year-old is only going from strength to strength and is frequently at the heart of Carlo Ancelotti’s playout from the back approach.

Since the start of last season, no player has completed more than Koulibaly’s 3,696 passes in Serie A.

COMPARED: Kalidou Koulibaly vs. Virgil van Dijk per 90 minutes in the league so far this season.

Add more stats here – https://t.co/pjofLcH8sm pic.twitter.com/hNhwFhiQld

— Squawka (@Squawka) December 11, 2018

With Gli Azzurri dropping down to the Europa League after a third-place finish in Group C and already chasing down an eight-point deficit to runaway leaders Juventus, Koulibaly could be eyeing up a change of scenery.

Cue Manchester United.

A season that has been highlighted with defensive issues, there is no doubt that Jose Mourinho will be demanding the arrival of a world class central defender.

Having to make do with what was at his disposal after failing to add any much-needed defensive reinforcements over the summer, it is being reported that Ed Woodward has given Mourinho the green light for a January splurge.

Although United will know that they must spend in excess of £90million if they want to bring Koulibaly to Old Trafford, many in Manchester believe the 27-year-old could have a similar effect to the one Virgil van Dijk has had in Merseyside.

 

Krzysztof Piatek – Genoa

After signing Krzysztof Piatek for a fee of just £4million over the summer, few fans at Genoa would have expected quite the immediate impact that the 23-year-old is having at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Scoring 21 goals and picking up six assists in his 31 games for Cracovia last season, Piatek has shown no signs of slowing down in his debut year in Serie A.

Once again finding the net in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Spal, the Genoa marksman now has 11 Serie A strikes his name and has recently surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo in the goalscoring charts.

In fact, scoring more league goals than the likes of Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah, Piatek has scored more than 50% of Genoa’s goals this season.

With his goalscoring exploits unsurprisingly attracting a long list of suitors from across Europe, Genoa could be tempted to cash in on the Polish international in order to raise funds for a push away from the relegation zone.

https://twitter.com/FTalentScout/status/1071841448574767105

While it was reported that Premier League heavyweights Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham had sent scouts out to Italy the watch Piatek, it appears that Chelsea are in pole position to acquire the Polish international.

Although Maurizio Sarri is enjoying quite the revolution at Stamford Bridge and their 2-0 win over the defending champions epitomized their transformation, many fans in SW6 still believe that they need a reliable number nine.

The duo of Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata have been able to record just six goals in their last 27 Premier League matches combined and neither have been able to cement their spot as Sarri’s #1 option.

With Piatek now holding the best minutes per goal ratio in Serie A, could the 23-year-old be the man to help Eden Hazard with Chelsea’s goalscoring burden?

 

Lorenzo Insigne – Napoli

While Koulibaly is stealing all the plaudits for Napoli’s defensive stability, it is forward Lorenzo Insigne who is spearheading Ancelotti’s charge in the final third.

Much like Sarri did with Dries Mertens last season, Ancelotti has brought the 27-year-old inside and Insigne is relishing his role as an out and out striker in Napoli’s new look 4-4-2.

Scoring seven goals and picking up five assists, only Ronaldo and Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella have been directly involved in more Serie A goals this season.

5 – Lorenzo Insigne is the first Italian player in Champions League history to score in five successive home matches in the competition. Poacher. pic.twitter.com/HGueNr5auF

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 6, 2018

Since taking up a more central role Insigne has scored 10 goals in 19 matches across all competitions this season.

Previously labeling the Italian international as “the best player in Serie A” Sarri could be looking for a potential reunion with Insigne at Stamford Bridge.

In almost an identical stature to Hazard, if Napoli’s talisman is to make to switch to the Premier League in January, many Chelsea fans could believe that the writing is on the wall for the Belgian international and his tenure in west London.

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