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Serie A players with a lot at stake in the final stretch of the season

Serie A players with a lot at stake in the final stretch of the season

It seems hard to believe but we are already in the final stretch of the football season. With the league titles close to being decided in most countries, it’s inevitable that transfer rumours will start becoming more prominent in the coming weeks. Let’s take a look at some Serie A players who can increase their appeal on the transfer market with a strong finish, I decided to avoid focusing on the players like Dybala, Icardi, Nainggolan and Donnarumma that have been covered a lot recently… 
 
Let’s start in Italy’s capital where both Roma and Lazio have many players at a cross roads. Kevin Strootman, Keita Balde and Stefan De Vrij all have contracts expiring in 2018 as well as many suitors- so they’ll either have to sign extensions soon or be sold this summer. Of the three the most likely to stay put is Strootman, who has had a renaissance this season after battling serious injuries the past few years. The fact that Roma has made progress with the new stadium is expected to help them retain their best players in the near future- but can the giallorossi start doing that this summer?
 
It appears very likely that Kostas Manolas will be sold for a big profit next summer, but would that be enough when you consider Roma will have to spend significantly to exercise the options to buy Bruno Peres , Fazio and keep  Szczesny? Nainggolan has already proven his top choice is to stay at Roma so it’s not out of the questions Strootman could be sacrificed if a large offer arrives- he’d been linked to clubs in the Premier League last summer and that was before he proved he’s now fully recovered from his most recent injury. With more strong performances the Dutch international could increase his list of suitors.


Roma’s cross town rivals Lazio are tough negotiators who had been able to get a great return on Hernanes when he had just one year left on his contract and that was in the final stretch of his prime. So it’s very likely that they will be able to do the same with Stefan De Vrij and Balde Keita, two young players who play in position in demand on the transfer market. De Vrij could be an excellent addition for Premier League clubs like Chelsea and the two clubs in Manchester, while Keita could end up being a great consolation prize for teams not able to land Bernardeschi or Berardi. De Vrij needs to be consistent in the final stretch of season, while Keita needs to avoid episodes that would make teams question his character.


Let’s move up north to Torino, where Joe Hart needs a strong finish to the season to ensure he can play for a top club in the Premier League next season. Manchester City has been paying a significant part of his wages, but he does not appear to be part of Guardiola plans next season - while Hart has done enough to erase the bad memories from his performances at the Euro, it remains to be seen if his body of work at Torino was good enough to be at a club like Arsenal or Liverpool. 
 
Hart’s teammate Antonio Barreca has had a break out season, and considering how hard it is to find quality left backs on the market he could find himself in strong demand with more strong performances rest of the season. Torino has many intriguing options up front to pair with central striker Andrea Belotti, so it will be interesting to see who between Ljajic and Iturbe makes the most of final third of season to re establish their appeal on transfer market.


Juventus is starting to get rewarded for their patience with Marko Pjaca. The Croatian international scored his first goal for the bianconeri when he gave them the lead against Porto in the Champions League. While Pjaca’s adaptation to playing in Serie A wasn’t helped by an injury last autumn, Juventus believed enough in him that they decided not to join the race for Julian Draxler during the January window. Should Pjaca continue to impress Juventus will likely decide to pass on pursuing Bernardeschi and Berardi next summer.


Speaking of Bernardeschi, his performances this season have been one of the very few  bright spots for Fiorentina. The 23 year old winger’s odds of leaving next summer will continue to increase as long as Nikola Kalinic isn’t sold to a Chinese club for a huge transfer fee, and because of Berardi’s long recovery from an injury he has probably become the most in demand Italian winger- it also helps that Bernardeschi has a temperament and character probably better suited to a top club than Berardi.
 
With Berardi it will be very interesting if he’ll continue to feed into the narrative he’s destined to follow in Toto’ Di Natale’s footsteps as a great striker who avoids playing for a top club. With a strong finish to the season, Berardi could rekindle the interest of clubs abroad in addition to Juventus and Inter. His teammate Lorenzo Pellegrini has had a break out season and he could return to Roma to replace Strootman (or Paredes) next season.


 
Let’s finish our tour in Bergamo where Frank Kessie will need to finish the season on a high note if he wants to fulfil his dream of playing for Manchester United. The Ivorian midfielder was brilliant in the first half of the season for Atalanta, but between Gagliardini’s departure and the energy he spent during the Africa  Cup he has not been the same recently. His new teammate Bryan Cristante has a great opportunity to shine by playing for Gasperini, who has been brilliant with young players this season. Cristante is hoping to follow in Gagliardini’s footsteps by performing at the level we have seen from another former Milan prospect Andrea Petagna.


 
All these players mentioned so far also need to hope that Manolo Gabbiadini continues to take the Premier League by storm. In recent years we have seen numerous former Serie A players struggle in leagues abroad, but the emergence of the former Napoli striker at Southampton will certainly make it easier for a foreign clubs to justify a huge investment for a player currently in Italy. While first impressions are certainly important, a strong finish to the season will translate to momentum for a summer move.
 
 
 
David Amoyal is the manager of the English page on Gianluca Di Marzio's website where he also writes weekly articles. David covers transfer news for ESPN, and has appeared on numerous radio shows on Sirius XM in the US as well as TalkSport in the UK. David is the former editor in chief of Vavel USA and his articles have been featured in many sites around the world. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidAmoyal