With Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Inter Milan and Juventus respectively for England over the summer, a gap has been left at the top of Serie A for new stars to come to the surface, and we now hope to see a more open landscape of young talents battling for the headlines.
Here, Sports Mole takes a close look at three young stars to keep an eye on in the Italian top flight, where Italian betting sites place Inter as favorite to win the championship with an odd of 3.00, followed by Juventus and Atalanta.
Dejan Kulusevski
Following a successful loan spell at Parma in the 2019-20 campaign, hitting 10 goals and nine assists in 36 Serie A appearances, the Ukranian attacker returned to Juventus last season to mixed success.
Kulusevski netted four goals alongside three assists in 35 appearances in the top flight last year, albeit with limited starting opportunities, and after impressing for Sweden in Euro 2020, he will be keen to hit the ground running this time around.
In the absence of Ronaldo, Massimo Allegri will certainly have to call on the 21-year-old at points throughout the season, and in what The Old Lady will hope to be a more free-flowing side, he possesses the attacking ability to punish sides and help to fill the void left by the Portuguese legend.
In their bid to regain the title this year, the Turin outfit will hope to see the versatile Swedish forward replicate the form that saw him earn a move from Atalanta in 2020.
Mikkel Damsgaard
A player who broke onto the global stage at this summer's European Championships, Damsgaard will hope to build on the momentum of his eye-catching form on the continent with a strong campaign for Sampdoria, who batted off major interest in the exciting midfielder over the summer.
The 21-year-old netted the only direct free kick of the tournament when he put an effort past Jordan Pickford in their semi-final clash, also marking the first goal that the Three Lions conceded in the tournament after five straight clean sheets.
A crucial member of the Danish squad that galvanised after the loss of Christian Eriksen in the opening group game, the midfielder hit two goals and an assist in five games as they reached the final four and only missed out on the final after extra time.
Having registered a modest tally of two goals and four assists in Serie A last season, Damsgaard will hope to build on a strong summer with an improved campaign this time around, with another year's experience under his belt, and his dynamism between the midfield and attacking lines could be crucial for Sampdoria.
Teun Koopmeiners
As the last of the three players to watch, we have looked slightly further back on the pitch, taking a look at Atalanta's new holding midfielder Teun Koopmeiners.
A club known for their impressive work in the transfer window, Atalanta seem to have struck again with the capture of the Dutch international, who arrives in Italy after an excellent spell with AZ Alkmaar.
At the tender age of 23, Koopmeiners had already amassed 154 appearances for AZ, contributing excellently with 43 goals and 17 assists in that time, but his effect is far more widespread than just in the final third.
Racking up over 4,900 minutes of Dutch top-flight football in the last two seasons, Koopmeiners averaged more than 80 passes per game in the 2019-20 season, and almost 70 in the following campaign, while remaining comfortably above an 80% success rate over the entire period.
We would not at all be surprised to see him slot seamlessly into the Atalanta side and begin dictating play alongside Dutch compatriot Marten de Roon in a talented partnership at the base of midfield. body check tags ::
