5 contenders for Serie A signing of the season

Inter Milan made a huge statement by signing Antonio Conte as their manager ahead of the 2019/20 season. The Nerazzurri were out to reclaim their crown, which has been with Juventus for the past eight years.

The Bianconeri, on the other hand, made moves of their own, appointing Maurizio Sarri as head coach and moving away from Massimiliano Allegri's pragmatic system in the process.

Elsewhere, Simone Inzaghi's Lazio quietly made their own arrangements for the season in the hopes of finally mounting a European challenge. AS Roma and AC Milan also changed their respective coaches, thus setting the stage for the most exciting Italian league season in ages.

And it was exciting until a global pandemic shut the league down temporarily. Before that, however, the Serie A had given the fans plenty to talk about.

In this article, we focus on players - new signings, in particular - who have proven to be excellent acquisitions for their respective clubs.

#1 Dejan Kulusevski (Parma; on loan from Juventus)

In January 2020, Juventus fought off interest from Serie A rivals Inter Milan, as well as other big European clubs, to sign winger Dejan Kulusevski from Atalanta. The 19-year-old had been the breakout young performer of the season heading into the transfer window, which prompted Juventus to spend a whopping €35 million on his services.

Atalanta loaned out Kulusevski to Parma before the start of the season, thereby allowing him to gain some exposure. The Swede had been a part of Atalanta's youth setup since 2016 but had only made three appearances for La Dea up until that point.

It didn't take Kulusevski too long to cement a spot in Parma's starting lineup, following a string of remarkable performances early in the season. By December 2019, the youngster had four goals and seven assists to his name, putting a host of top European clubs on high alert.

Apart from the 12 goals he's netted, he has also played 21 key passes and is ranked third in the league in that category. Furthermore, Kulusevski has also run an average of almost 12 kilometres per game, which is second in the league only to Marcelo Brozovic.

#2 Amir Rrahmani (Hellas Verona; on loan from Napoli)

Amir Rrahmani playing for Hellas Verona in Serie A

Ivan Juric's Hellas Verona have been the surprise package of the 2019/20 Serie A season. The Gialloblu were able to collect 35 points from 25 matches before the campaign was suspended due to the outbreak of Coronavirus in Italy. At the time of the league's suspension, Hellas were only four points off a Europa League spot with a game in hand.

Defence has been the key for Hellas this season with the team conceding only 26 goals so far - the best record outside of the top three. Central defender Amir Rrahmani, who signed for the Gialloblu in the summer from Dinamo Zagreb, has been the key figure in Juric's backline, often playing alongside Koray Gunter and Marash Kumbulla in a three-man set-up.

Rrahmani leads the league in recoveries and is a part of the backline that has kept the most clean sheets so far this season. The Kosovan central defender has already secured a move to Napoli for the 2020/21 season, signing with I Partenopei after just six months at Hellas, but will remain with his current club until the end of the campaign.

#3 Theo Hernandez (AC Milan)

AC Milan decided to take a chance on left-back Theo Hernandez following his short and unsuccessful stint with Real Madrid. The Frenchman had controversially made the jump to Real from city rivals Atletico, with whom he had spent eight years as a youngster.

Nonetheless, the left-back failed to displace Marcelo from the left-back spot during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu and was loaned out to Real Sociedad after just one season.

Milan completed a €20 million deal for Hernandez in the summer of 2019/20 following prolonged negotiations. The Frenchman made his debut for the club on September 21 in a Serie A match against rivals Inter, which the Rossoneri lost by two goals to nil.

Despite a shaky start to his career, Hernandez has turned out to be an incredible buy for AC Milan. The youngster has been excellent going forward and has scored six times already this season, making him the team's second-highest goal-scorer! His defensive numbers are also solid, proving that he is equally important to his team at both ends of the pitch.

#4 Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari; on loan from Inter Milan)

Udinese Calcio v Cagliari Calcio - Serie A

“I always wanted to return but I did not think the return would come this year, but I am happy that is has happened," said Radja Nainggolan after sealing a loan move to Cagliari. The Belgian midfielder had first made his name in Serie A with the Rossoblu, playing over 130 times for the club. In the summer window of 2019, following stints at AS Roma and Inter Milan, Nainggolan returned 'home'.

Nainggolan became the centerpiece of an exciting summer rebuild undertaken by Cagliari, who also signed exciting young talents such as Nahitan Nandez and Luca Pellegrini. The Rossoblu, boosted by the new talents, went on to take the league by storm in the early weeks and were unbeaten in 13 matches at one point.

They constantly drifted in and out of the European spots before a loss of form saw them drop out of the top 10.

Nonetheless, Nainggolan has been one of Cagliari's top performers this season. The Belgium international, in his second spell at the club, has had a hand in 11 goals (5 goals scored; 6 assists). He also won the Serie A MVP of the Month award for November following a string of impressive performances.

#5 Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan)

Udinese Calcio v FC Internazionale - Serie A

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's arrival at Manchester United saw Romelu Lukaku lose his spot in the first team. During the early months of his tenure as interim head coach, Solskjaer relied upon Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to lead his attack with Lukaku left on the bench.

Growing discontent with life in Manchester, the Belgian striker sought a move away and got his wish in the summer of 2019.

Inter Milan decided to spend big on Lukaku in the transfer window, thus providing new manager Antonio Conte with a reliable hit-man to lead the attack. Conte had previously attempted to sign Lukaku at Chelsea but was unsuccessful in his attempts. However, he finally got his man two years later at Inter, providing Lukaku with the chance to be the star striker for yet another European giant in the process.

So far, Lukaku has proven to be worth every single penny the Nerazzurri paid for him in the summer. The Belgian, forming an impressive partnership with Lautaro Martinez, has scored 17 times in the league in his debut season. He has netted 23 times across all competitions while also providing two assists.

Edited by Arvind Sriram