Top 10 Serie A transfers of the season, featuring Tammy Abraham & Maignan

Carlo Garganese

• 25 May 2022 19:03 BST
• 6 min read

The 2021-22 Serie A season is now over after a titanic title tussle between AC Milan and Inter ended in the Rossoneri winning their first Scudetto in 11 years.

Serie A may no longer be the best league in Europe but for the third year in a row it was the highest scoring of the continent’s big five championships.

Many of these goals arrived via talent who moved to new clubs this past season.

Football Transfers selects the best transfers of the season until now.

Mike Maignan: Lille to AC Milan (€13m)

There are few bigger tasks in football than having to succeed a goalkeeping phenomenon.

It is a problem that haunted Man Utd for years after Peter Schmeichel left and it is one that many feared would afflict Milan when Donnarumma left for PSG this past summer.

However, Mike Maignan was so good last season that Donnarumma was not missed at all.

He kept 16 clean sheets in 32 games and looked like the complete goalkeeper, commanding his box and defence with authority. He was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year.

He will surely be France’s long-term number one very soon.

Olivier Giroud: Chelsea to AC Milan (€500k)

Olivier Giroud was allowed to depart Chelsea for Milan last summer for virtually nothing, just a €500,000 bonus fee.

He finished the season with a modest 11 Serie A strikes but it was the importance of his goals that have made him such a brilliant signing.

Giroud proved to be the ultimate big occasion player, scoring a string of vital goals that took Milan to the Scudetto.

He hit a quick-fire double to win Milan the derby versus Inter in February, scored the winner at Napoli in March, turned home a vital equaliser at Lazio in April, and then struck twice in the final-day 3-0 victory over Sassuolo.

At 35, Giroud is still a top striker.

Hakan Calhanoglu: AC Milan to Inter (Free Transfer)

AC Milan lost both Gigio Donnarumma and Hakan Calhanoglu on free transfers in the summer of 2021.

Milan fans weren’t too bothered at the time in losing Calhanoglu as he had been inconsistent in the Rossoneri shirt.

But Calhanoglu has moved onto another level with Inter after a hugely impressive season in which he scored eight goals and delivered 12 assists in all competitions from midfield.

He also scored in the Milan derby, goading his former fans with his celebration.

Denzel Dumfries: PSV to Inter (€15m)

Denzel Dumfries was handed the daunting task of replacing one of the best players in Serie A when he was signed to succeed Achraf Hakimi, who moved to PSG last summer.

But Dumfries proved that he is a top player in his own right with an excellent season at right wing-back.

He was an indefatigable force down the flank and always dangerous in attack, chipping in with goals and superb in the air at the far post.

He finished the season with an impressive five Serie A goals.

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa: Fulham to Napoli (Loan)

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa was one of the surprises of the season, not just in Italy but in all of Europe.

Those who watched the Cameroonian at Fulham would not have believed that the central midfielder had it in him to become a top-class player.

However, that is exactly what Anguissa became after moving to Napoli on loan for the season, with an option to buy that has now been activated.

The 26-year-old was an indomitable force at the heart of the Napoli side, providing the brawn to Fabian Ruiz’s brain. He also is good technically and was among the top players in Serie A for dribbles. An unfortunate injury to Anguissa saw Napoli’s Scudetto bid fall off track after initially surging to the top of the table in the early months.

Beto: Portimonense to Udinese (Loan)

Beto was a complete unknown when he arrived at Udinese last summer from Portuguese side Portimonense, on loan with an option to buy.

But the 23-year-old immediately showed himself to be a force of nature, at least physically.

Standing at 6ft 4in, Beto possesses ferocious power and pace and has been labelled by some as a “right-footed Romelu Lukaku”.

As his strike-partner Gerard Deulofeu told The Italian Football Podcast, that description isn’t quite accurate but “Beto has this mentality to push on the pitch, to improve every single game. We will do great things together and score a lot of goals together.”

They formed one of the best partnerships in the division, with Beto contributing 11 Serie A goals in 24 games.

Giovanni Simeone: Cagliari to Verona (Loan)

After scoring just six goals for Cagliari in the 2020-21 season and only 24 over the previous three campaigns before this one, many people felt that Giovanni Simeone’s top-level career was over.

But the son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone enjoyed a renaissance this season after moving on loan to Hellas Verona.

Only three players in Serie A scored more goals from open play than Simeone, who hit the back of the net 17 times in total – none of them coming from the penalty spot.

This included some beautiful strikes, including a memorable one in the win against Juventus.

Teun Koopmeiners: AZ to Atalanta (€12m)

Teun Koopmeiners’ agent Bart Baving offered his client to every top club in Italy last summer but was summarily rejected by Juventus, Inter and Milan, while Roma couldn’t close a deal.

Instead, Koopmeiners joined Atalanta where, after an early bedding-in period, he already established himself as one of the most impressive central midfielders in the league.

He possesses a lovely left foot, is a leader on the pitch, and fits in perfectly to Atalanta’s high-press, high-octane style of play.

Atalanta themselves had a disappointing campaign, finishing eighth, but Koopmeiners was one of the few players to impress.

Tammy Abraham: Chelsea to Roma (€40m)

Tammy Abraham completed a €40m transfer last summer to Jose Mourinho's side last summer - with another €5m in bonuses - after finding himself surplus to requirements at Chelsea.

He has enjoyed a fantastic first season at the Stadio Olimpico, scoring 27 goals in all competitions.

This has included some key goals in big matches, including the Rome derby and the winner versus Leicester to put Roma in the final of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Marko Arnautovic: Shanghai Port to Bologna (€2.7m)

Marko Arnautovic was labelled as the “new Zlatan Ibrahimovic” at the start of his career but he never fulfilled his promise.

Nevertheless, the Austrian remains a supremely-gifted attacker and he was one of the hardest forwards for defenders to play against this past season.

He scored 14 Serie A goals for one of the dullest teams in the division, scoring memorable goals against Juventus and Inter – the latter playing a key role in the Nerazzurri not winning the Scudetto.

He is now attracting interest from Serie A’s biggest clubs.