This article is the first in a series covering the 2024 summer transfer window in Serie A. It will analyse a number of clubs that have found success in the window, as well as those whose transfer activities so far are considered a failure. This article will analyse 3 clubs.

AS Roma- Winner

The first winner on this list is Roma. In Daniele De Rossi’s first summer window as a manager, the Giallorossi legend is making some significant signings. Heading into the new season, goal threat was a major concern, especially with Dybala aging and their main focal point of attack, Romelu Lukaku, returning to his parent club Chelsea. However, De Rossi has addressed this issue with two superb attacking signings: Artem Dovbyk and Matías Soulé.

Dovbyk (featured image) joined following a fantastic season at Girona, where he scored 21 league goals. He will likely provide much-needed presence up front, especially with rumors of Tammy Abraham potentially on the move. A reported €30 million fee is also excellent in such a poor and overinflated striker market.

The transfer of Matías Soulé is another brilliant piece of business. In his first preseason game against Everton, he looked like his Frosinone form would continue, registering a superb assist with a lofted through ball over the Everton backline to give Roma the lead. Soulé was sold by Juventus to help raise funds, and the winger has already stated he can’t wait to prove the Juventus board wrong and make a big impact for the Giallorossi. All things considered, €26 million is a very low fee for one of Serie A’s best young players last season, expect big things this upcoming season.

Other signings of Enzo Le Fee from Rennes and Angeliño’s loan move made permanent and Roma look set for the new season. Le Fee is likely to slot right into De Rossi’s midfield three, with the departure of Houssem Aouar and Renato Sanches. Le Fee statistically will offer a lot more than his fellow midfielders. Last season offered much better ball carrying, forward passes and key passes than his new teammates. The Frenchman will look to add another creative spark in the midfield.

Overall Roma have addressed the key issues they faced, as well as replaced any departures such as Angeliño making a permanent move as Spinazzola left on a free deal. There is still a few positions they need to look at, most notably the defence, losing Huijsen (loan end) and Llorente (loan end) means they could do with another centre back to offer some more depth, especially with Smalling ageing. Additionally, both right back and left back could do with more depth as there is a lack of top quality there. Overall though, Roma look set for a superb window.

Juventus- loser

What began as a promising rebuild for Juventus has dwindled into an underwhelming transfer window. The club has missed out on key targets as well ass selling academy products to raise funds, even though these players had the potential to strengthen the first team. The situation seems to worsen by the day.

The rebuild under the new Juventus regime, with Motta as manager initially showed promise. Khephren Thuram, Douglas Luiz, and Di Gregorio are all excellent signings who will immediately improve the first team. However, the failure to secure top target Calafiori, despite his initial desire to join Juventus, set the tone for the rest of the window regarding Juventus and their top targets. Juventus stalled in the negotiations, and Calafiori ultimately joined Arsenal.

The situation repeated itself with Todibo, who seemed like a done deal. He waited for Juventus, rejected offers from other clubs, but Juventus hesitated, and West Ham swooped in to hijack the transfer. Now, the same issue is arising with Teun Koopmeiners, who is keen on joining Juventus, but the club is refusing to meet Atalanta’s asking price. Missing out on a number of top signings is also being topped off by Juventus selling promising academy products, who could improve the first team, and then signing replacements for them.

Matías Soulé and Dean Huijsen are prime examples of this. Both players had superb seasons on loan in Serie A and showed real promise. They could have addressed key positions for Juventus: Soulé on the wing and Huijsen at center-back. Instead, they were sold to raise funds—funds that have yet to be reinvested. The departure of arguably Juventus’s best player, Federico Chiesa, for just €25 million is also raising concerns. It’s now reported that Juventus will enter the market for two wingers and a center-back, the exact positions Soulé and Huijsen could have filled. Time will tell whether the sale of these two promising youngsters will prove costly, as well as who Juventus will bring in before the end of the window.

AC Milan- mixed

AC Milan have arguably had a both good and bad window. New management in Fonesca and a number of positions needed addressing. With the departure of Olivier Giroud, AC Milan needed a striker, despite being strongly linked with Joshua Zirkzee, Milan failed to grab the signature of the dutchman and instead went for Alvaro Morata. This is why I have said they’ve had a mixed window, they’ve addressed the positions which needed attention, but the quality of player, such as Morata is questionable. We will see. Morata is still considered by clubs in Europe as a top striker. Scoring 21 goals in all competitions last season. The Spaniard will be looking to prove a lot of doubters wrong and lead AC Milan to a title charge. Besides, if a striker of Zlatan Ibrahimovic thinks that Morata is of the required quality for AC Milan, who are we to say he’s not.

This trend continues with the imminent signing of Emerson Royal from Tottenham. Regular Premier League viewers, myself included, may wonder how he secured a move to a club of AC Milan’s quality. When I analysed AC Milan and how Fonseca sets up his team above (read here), I expected them to prioritise a defensively sound right-back to allow Theo Hernandez to push forward and provide an attacking outlet. However, Emerson Royal has yet to demonstrate such defensive reliability at Tottenham. While Fonseca may use a different system than he did at Lille, AC Milan urgently needed a right-back. Emerson is a cost-effective option and might still prove me and every Premier League watcher wrong.

On a more positive note, the signing of Strahinja Pavlovic is an excellent deal. The center-back had an outstanding season at Salzburg and performed well in Euro 2024. Still young at just 24, he’s expected to start alongside Fikayo Tomori. AC Milan has made a strong start, addressing key positions that needed reinforcement at reasonable prices. While there’s still room for improvement, particularly in midfield and attack, the team appears set with quality players. If they make one or two more signings and manage to keep Leão, this could turn out to be a very successful window for AC Milan.

Keep an eye for part 2 where we will talk about some more winners and losers of the 2024 transfer window in the Serie A.