Inter clinched the Scudetto with a 19-point margin in the 2023-24 season, highlighting just how far behind their rivals are, and the latter have been making some moves on the mercato. Indeed, Milan, Atalanta Juventus and Napoli are looking to change things.
As highlighted by today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (see image below), the race is underway to close the gap to Inter. Milan have hired Paulo Fonseca, Juventus have hired Thiago Motta and Napoli have hired Antonio Conte. Atalanta, meanwhile, still have Gian Piero Gasperini.
Milan are falling behind the rest as they have made just one signing, namely Alvaro Morata. They will need a ‘sprint’ on the mercato, as the newspaper puts it, otherwise Fonseca will end up suffering the consequences of the management’s mistakes.
Juventus, meanwhile, have made good reinforcements on the mercato but the Thiago Motta ‘revolution’ will take time. The Italo-Brazilian manager is very ambitious and the Bianconeri will not find the right balance immediately, as highlighted by the 3-0 friendly loss against Nürnberg.
Atalanta are beaming from the Europa League trophy and with Gasperini at the helm, they already have the playing style and game locked down. Nicolo Zaniolo is a welcome addition and this season, they will also have the full capacity of Gewiss Stadium.
Finally, Conte already has what he needs with Napoli as far as starting players go. He’s waiting for the reinforcement of Romelu Lukaku, though, but the manager certainly has enough time to get his ship in order ahead of the season opener. Then again, this will also be a big shift.
