Serie A 2023/24 preview: Challenges for champions Napoli, Juventus aim to bounce back, Jose Mourinho troubles

The 2022/23 season saw something of a rebirth in Italian football with Serie A serving up an unforgettable campaign.

While the rest of Europe’s top leagues saw many of the usual suspects ultimately lift their respective titles in May, Italy broke with tradition as Napoli were crowned champions for the first time since 1990.

Perhaps even more remarkably, it was the first time since 2001 that Serie A was won by someone other than the ‘Big Three’ of AC Milan, Inter or Juventus.

This was no fluke either, with Napoli leading the way for the majority of the season and eventually finishing a hefty 16 points ahead of second-placed Lazio.

Napoli’s historic title win was not the only talking point of the season, however, as Italian sides also made their mark beyond their own borders, reaching the finals of all three European competitions.

Ultimately, the runs of Inter (Champions League), Roma (Europa League) and Fiorentina (Europa Conference League) all ended in heartbreak, but served to make a statement about the visible growth in strength of calcio.

Ahead of the big kick off of the new Serie A season on August 19, where all 10 opening weekend fixtures will be available to watch in TNT Sports, we look at the major talking points from what promises to be another thrilling campaign.

After several close calls and near misses over the last decade, things finally clicked for Napoli under manager Luciano Spalletti last season. A summer of upheaval in 2022 saw the departures of club stalwarts Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne among others, as the manager sought to build a new, dynamic younger side.

Spearheaded by Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, the arrival of winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia saw an unstoppable partnership develop that tormented Serie A defences on their march to eventual championship glory, confirmed with five games to spare.

A 5-1 thrashing of Juve was the undoubted standout result last season but despite these kinds of dominant displays, the feeling is that they will be hard-pressed to repeat their success this time around.

While the club are sweating on an as-yet unsigned new contract for Osimhen, keeping hold of him and Kvaratskhelia has been crucial this summer, but they go into the new campaign still having to contend with major changes elsewhere both on and off the pitch.

Kim Min-jae, who starred at the heart of their defence, has left for Bayern Munich, while in the dugout, Spalletti has remarkably decided to take a year-long sabbatical from football with Rudi Garcia appointed as his replacement.

Despite previous successes with the likes of Roma and Lille, there are some doubts about whether Garcia is the right fit for Napoli and their identity – that and the fact he hasn’t managed in Europe since leaving Lyon in 2021, with his most recent role being in Saudi Arabia at Al Nassr.

It also remains to be seen how much the exit of sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli will be felt after leaving the club for rivals Juventus.

Speaking of Juventus, if Napoli’s campaign was a dream, 22/23 can only be described as a nightmare for the Old Lady…

Juve will do well to put the turmoil of recent months aside as they look to mount a challenge for their first league title since 2020.

The club have brought in USA forward Timothy Weah to try and boost their firepower, and crucially, at the age of 23, he is expected to be a long-term investment.

The acquisition of Giuntoli from Napoli should lead to a new transfer strategy to help the club return to the summit of Italian football in future.

Some fans want the club to invest even further in youth given the development of players like Fabio Miretti, Nicolo Fagioli and Samuel Iling-Junior but it remains to be seen what Giuntoli and manager Max Allegri will go for.

Given the fact many believe Allegri’s football to have long gone stale and very much part of the problem at the club, fans probably wont yet get too excited about a much-needed change in philosophy as long as he remains in the dugout.

A Champions League semi-final which saw the two Milan sides go head-to-head was a real throwback to a time when these two teams were considered among Europe’s best.

Prior to Napoli’s triumph, the city rivals exchanged Serie A titles in the preceding two campaigns but were some distance off the summit last time around.

Both sides have gone through changes with Milan making some exciting signings in the form of Samuel Chukwueze, Christian Pulisic and Ruben-Loftus Cheek to rejuvenate a side that will be disappointed with their worrying drop off during their failed title defence.

The loss of Sandro Tonalli to Newcastle could be an issue as well as a significant change in the hierarchy with the departures of directors Ricky Massara and club legend Paolo Maldini.

The two men were the driving force behind their run to the title in 2022 so their replacement, the club’s former chief scout Antonio D’Ottavio, will have his work cut out maintaining that standard.

On paper, their summer acquisitions certainly have them on the right path even if their is some scepticism about owners RedBird Capital and their ‘Moneyball’ approach which may see them become a ‘trading club’ akin to the likes of Borussia Dortmund in Germany, sacrificing their own historical position as one of European football’s elite.

Inter will look to build on their run in the Champions League and third-place finish in the league and despite losing the likes of Andre Onana, Marcelo Brozovic and Milan Skriniar, have recruited smartly with Marcus Thuram, Yann Sommer and Juan Cuadrado added to their squad for the coming year as well as Sassuolo midfielder Davide Frattesi.

However, there appears to be little in the way of finances to truly develop and rebuild this squad. This could be their undoing over the course of the campaign and there remains a need for a striker following a failed attempt to bring back Romelu Lukaku.

Jose Mourinho’s Roman adventure has not been without its bumps in the road and the former Inter boss is seemingly trying to navigate another following his frustrated attempts to bring in a new striker.

With Tammy Abraham sidelined and Andrea Belotti’s failure to score throughout the entire campaign, a new front man was an essential purchase this summer.

However, the club’s failure to do so has prompted the quick-witted Portuguese boss to pose with his ‘imaginary striker’ on social media.

“Everything is not okay but…I get angry for an hour and then I’m back to being positive about things,” said Mourinho.

“Regarding the imaginary striker, I can tell you that even if [Kylian] Mbappe arrives next week, it would still be late.”

Should Roma not get the player required before the start of the campaign, it’s difficult to see Mourinho’s mood improving and, as many will point out, we are at the start of his third season at the club where historically, things tend to start going array.

If there are worries at Roma, the opposite could be said of their neighbours Lazio who, albeit by some distance, were Napoli’s closest challengers last season.

Like Napoli, they will be hoping their surge up the table is not a one-off and have made some notable moves in the transfer market to make sure that is not the case.

The highly-rated Argentine striker Taty Castellanos has arrived, as has midfielder Daichi Kamada from Frankfurt, with more potential incomings before the start of the campaign.

Manager Maurizio Sarri has led Lazio back into the Champions League this season but while they aren’t expected to challenge in the competition, the experience is invaluable for the players and even with an early exit, if they are hovering towards the top of the table by the new year, they would certainly will look to Napoli’s heroics last year as something of an inspiration.

Elsewhere, Atalanta will be expected to remain in contention for a top-four finish after continuously upsetting the established order in recent years. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are known for their often brilliant style of football and even the loss of Rasmus Hojlund to Manchester United may not be as difficult to deal with following the swift move to replace him with Gianluca Scamacca.

Finally, off the back of reaching the finals of the Coppa Italia final and Conference League as well as finishing eighth in the league while playing some proactive, attacking football, there will be a lot of interest in Vincenzo Italiano’s Fiorentina and whether they can maintain that standard in the coming campaign.