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Serie A preview: 5 storylines to watch for this season

By Clemente Lisi

JUVENTUS STADIUM, TURIN, ITALY - 2017/05/21: Gonzalo Higuain (L) and Paulo Dybala of Juventus FC celebrate the victory of the Italian Serie A 'Scudetto' at the end of the Serie A football match between Juventus FC and FC Crotone. Juventus won their sixth consecutive and 33th official Serie A title. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
JUVENTUS STADIUM, TURIN, ITALY - 2017/05/21: Gonzalo Higuain (L) and Paulo Dybala of Juventus FC celebrate the victory of the Italian Serie A 'Scudetto' at the end of the Serie A football match between Juventus FC and FC Crotone. Juventus won their sixth consecutive and 33th official Serie A title. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
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Leonardo Bonucci of Milan during the Pre-Season Friendly match between AC Milan and Villareal at Stadio Angelo Massimino on August 9, 2017 in Catania, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maricchiolo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Leonardo Bonucci of Milan during the Pre-Season Friendly match between AC Milan and Villareal at Stadio Angelo Massimino on August 9, 2017 in Catania, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maricchiolo/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /

AC Milan spends money to rebuild

The start of the post-Berlusconi era has been all about spending money on the summer transfer market in an effort to rebuild a team that have seen some hard times in recent years. The former powerhouse no longer finish in the table’s top positions and have been notably absent from competitions such as the Champions League. That’s a far cry from the team former owner Silvio Berlusconi bought in 1986 and turned into a five-time European champion.

Will these new players change AC Milan’s fortunes and break Juventus’ lock on the domestic title? That remains to be seen. The 10 new signings will need to come together as a unit quickly if this totally revamped AC Milan side hope to compete for the title. There are several new signings to note. Central midfielder Franck Kessie and defender Andrea Conti arrive at AC Milan following a successful season with Atalanta, but remain largely green when it comes to playing at such a high level. These players will need to overcome a massive learning curve at a club clearly interested in getting better in a very short amount of time.

In reality, this group has only been together for a few weeks in preseason. Coach Vincenzo Montella, in only his second year in charge, will need to get his players to gel quickly if he wants to see any long-term results. He has a few tactical options as a result of so many new faces, but is likely to go with a 3-5-2 given the depth of midfielders at his disposal.

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