Serie A: Three of Italian Football’s Most Exciting Prospects 2020

The 2019-20 Serie A season concluded at the beginning of August with Juventus managing to secure a ninth straight Scudetto and Inter, Atalanta, Lazio, and Roma all finishing inside the top six. It was another exciting campaign in which a number of promising young players broke through and caught the eye. Whilst Bologna’s Mattias Svanberg, who has been linked with a move to the Everton, and Verona’s Matash Kumbulla deserve honourable mentions, we’ve picked out three future stars of the game who look set to have the biggest impact on the Italian top flight over the next twelve months.

Jeremie Boga

At 23-years old, Sassuolo’s Jeremie Boga is the oldest player on our list, and the former Chelsea winger has enjoyed a breakout season with the Neroverdi.

The winger ended the campaign amongst the division’s top goal-scorers with 11 strikes and a couple of assists to his name, finishing above the likes of Dries Mertens, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Udinese’s Kevin Lasagna.

Boga is dynamic and fast-paced, and has thrived in an attack-minded Sassuolo outfit, who have enjoyed a productive second half of the season. His attacking output has significantly improved since he arrived at the Mapei Stadium, and with an impressive conversion rate and powerful shot, he appears to have finally fulfilled his potential.

The French-born Ivorian is unlikely to remain in Emilia-Romagna for much longer with both Atalanta and Napoli both reportedly interested. The latter are seemingly leading the way for his signature, so it looks like we’ll be seeing plenty more of this exciting wideman next season.

Sandro Tonali

Ranked as one of the best dribblers in the division, 19-year old Sandro Tonali is one of the most sought-after midfielders in Serie A. Despite being linked with a transfer to the Premier League, the Lodi-born star looks set to remain in Italy for the foreseeable.

As well as being a set-piece specialist, Tonali is a tireless runner and has pinpoint accuracy with his deliveries. Although he wasn’t able to save Brescia from relegation this season, he did manage to post some impressive numbers.

Despite being embroiled in a battle at the bottom, he ended the campaign with one goal and seven assists. He also played an average of 2.1 key passes per match, and made 1.2 interceptions per 90 minutes. According to Infogol, he averages around 40 passes per match with an accuracy of 76%.

Although he is often described as a playmaker, his holding ability is arguably his greatest asset, with his enviable athleticism allowing him to go box-to-box on a regular basis.

Tonali is likely to continue his development over the next twelve months, and he should benefit from being surrounded by better players next season.

He’s been compared to both Luka Modric and Andrea Pirlo and, having already been capped three times, he’s clearly done enough to impress national team coach Roberto Mancini. Having made his debut in October 2019, he looks set to have a bright future in the International game, and Italian football fans are expecting to see him given some minutes at Euro 2021. As of August 4th, the Azzurri are 12/1 in the tournament betting, and with a young, dynamic, and exciting squad, they will be expected to progress to the latter stages next summer.

Dejan Kulusevski

It was a fairly average season for mid-table Parma who finished the campaign in 11th position. However, loanee Dejan Kulusevski provided plenty of magical moments at the Ennio Tardini Stadium during 2020.

The talented Swede has been snapped by Juventus, who agreed a deal worth around £30million with his parent club Atalanta at the beginning of the year. The Bianconeri view the 19-year old as a natural replacement for Federico Bernardeschi, who has been strongly linked with a move away from Turin.

During the course of the campaign, he netted ten times and registered eight assists. He found the net in three of his last four games in Emilia-Romagna and with twelve big chances created this campaign, he is widely expected to be a resounding success at the Juventus Stadium.

2000 – Dejan #Kulusevski is the youngest player to have been involved in 10+ goals in the top-5 European leagues 2019-20 (four goals and seven assists for him). Colt. pic.twitter.com/hbr2OtWMxI

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 2, 2020

With an average of 2.2 key passes per game, as well as 2.1 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, he is always looking to make things happen in the final third, and according to Opta Italy on social media, he is the youngest player to have been involved in 10+ goals in the top five European leagues this season.

Serie A continues to produce and develop some of the continent’s finest talent, and this crop of future stars are likely to become household names over the next couple of seasons. With clubs looking at ways to save money this summer, it may lead to more young players being given valuable minutes in the Italian top flight over the coming months, with plenty more prodigious talents likely to follow in the footsteps of this tremendously talented trio.