5 players to watch in Serie A this season

These five players will be worth keeping an eye out for during the 2018-19 Serie A season.

The new Serie A season begins this Saturday, with champions Juventus away at Chievo. The pick of the opening round of fixtures is Lazio against Napoli on Saturday evening, while the Monday night game is Atalanta against Frosinone.

With Inter, AC Milan, Roma and Lazio all hoping to chase down Juventus and mount a serious title tilt, these are five players to watch during the upcoming season.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)

The 21-year-old Uruguayan midfielder, Rodrigo Bentancur, who was linked with Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester City during the summer transfer window, was involved in 27 matches for Juve last season across Serie A, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia, and will certainly better that this time around, injuries permitting.

A technical and creative midfielder, Bentancur is yet to score a competitive goal for his club team, but his energy and dynamism from the centre of the pitch make him exciting nonetheless, with his passing and vision key attributes.

In his second full season in Italy, having been signed from Boca Juniors, he will need to add goals and assists to his game, but Bentancur has all the tools required to make that next step.

Miralem Pjanic, Emre Can and Sami Khedira provide tough competition for places, but Bentancur will emerge as a crucial part of Juve’s team this season.

Suso (AC Milan)

Linked with Roma over the previous few weeks, attacking midfielder Suso has really made himself at home in Serie A having failed to make an impact with Liverpool in the Premier League.

Milan want to keep their number eight, but wherever he ends up, Suso will be an interesting player to keep an eye on in Serie A.

He has looked comfortable in Italy, scoring 19 league goals in his time there so far, and he’s still only 24. His form saw him earn a full international cap for Spain last November, and more call-ups will be on the way if he continues his upward trajectory.

Justin Kluivert (Roma)

A £15.2 million purchase from Ajax, Justin Kluivert, son of Patrick, the former Barcelona star and current Cameroon coach, will slot straight into the first team despite being just 19.

Monchi, Roma’s sporting director, saw the potential shown by Kluivert last season in the Eredivisie in Holland, where he scored ten times and assisted five in 30 games from a wide position.

An exciting, fast talent, Kluivert will want a stellar season to make his own name, rather than being referred to as the son of his father; do that successfully, and Monchi might just have another success story to add to Mohamed Salah, Dani Alves and Ivan Rakitic, all top level players signed for low fees and sold on for much more.

Mattia Caldara (AC Milan)

Part of the deal that saw Leonardo Bonucci move back to Juventus over the summer from AC Milan, Mattia Caldara represents a good side of the bargain for his new club to be on.

While Bonucci is now 31, Caldara is just 24, giving him several more years left in the tank, and meaning he is on the verge of entering his prime.

Strong and tall, but equally comfortable on the ball, the young central defender will be given chances to impress, and in a league that stereotypically is a breeding ground for exceptional defenders, Caldara could be the next to emerge.

Wanted by Chelsea in the summer, Maurizio Sarri didn’t get his man; if he performs to the level that he’s capable of this season, Milan will be very glad it was them who got his signature in the end, despite losing Bonucci to one of their rivals.

Thomas Strakosha (Lazio)

The only goalkeeper on the list, 23-year-old Albanian international Thomas Strakosha was linked with Liverpool before they sealed a then world-record move for Alisson Becker, and was an obvious candidate given his confidence with both his hands and his feet.

He could well be the next goalkeeper to leave Serie A for a huge fee if he has another eye-catching season like he did last year, making eye-catching saves against the likes of Genoa, Juventus and Napoli to name a few.

He’s probably most known for his ability to find his teammates accurately and quickly when counter-attacking situations arise, but is also capable of doing the basics right, which is fundamental to any goalkeeper.

Lazio could well be the team to watch in Serie A this coming season, but for them to compete at the very top, Stakosha will have to have a good campaign.