Hot Prospects in the Serie A

With the World Cup nearly upon us, it gives Premier League managers the opportunity to hunt for some potential transfer targets. The Serie A has allowed some of the brightest young prospects to burst onto the scene this year. The league has a profusion of Italian talent, which could be useful for some clubs in the Premier League.

It is well documented that German giants, Borussia Dortmund have sealed Torino's Ciro Immobile as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski. Immobile had a spectacular Serie A campaign and topped the goal scoring charts this season with 23. His Torino narrowly missed out on qualification for the Europa League and if he was eligible to play in that match against Fiorentina, I would have bet Torino to secure a European spot for next season. He formed a formidable strike force with fellow Italian Alessio Cerci, netting 36 goals in the Serie A and Coppa Italia. Now that the season has concluded, Immobile turns his attention to Italy's World Cup campaign that begins on the 14th June against England. 

The 24 year old is regarded as a poacher and does share similarities in his play to that of Lewandowski. At the start of the season, it was unlikely whether Prandelli would select Immobile, but after his electric form in the league, his inclusion was vital. He has fierce competition for the starting spot against England, with fellow teammate Cerci in fine form along with other star studded talents. Prandelli may choose experience in Cassano or Balotelli, over Immobile, even though they're not in the same calibre of form as the Torino man. With the Immobile off to Dortmund, Klopp has bagged himself another bargain for an approximate fee of £15m. I feel that the English clubs have missed a trick here, and can certainly see him coming back to bite them on the back side in the Champions League.

Domenico Berardi is another talent that is one to look out for in the future. Berardi burst onto the scene scoring 4 goals in a 4-3 win over AC Milan in January, becoming the first player to score 4 goals against AC Milan in a single Serie A match. In addition to his Milan heroics, Berardi netted a first half hat-trick in a memorable victory over Fiorentina earlier this month. Berardi was certainly a factor in securing safety for a second season in Serie A as, he contributed 16 goals to the cause. Although not going to the World Cup, Berardi is player that will feature in years to come.

The 19 year old has been linked with a transfer to England prior to the January transfer window, however the Italian may be more difficult to capture than people think. Serie A champions, Juventus completed a deal in September 2013 with Sassuolo that Berardi was to be co-owned by both clubs. The deal also saw Luca Marrone transfer in the opposite direction along with a fee of €4.3m. Any clubs looking at the Italian protege will certainly have to stump up much more cash, however The Old Lady may be more favourable towards a loan deal. Clinching their 3rd successive Serie A title, Juve have a wealth of talent in attack through Carlos Tevez, Fernando Llorente, Mirko Vucinic among others. It will be unlikely that Antonio Conte will place his faith for the coming season in a 19 year old rather than the experience of some of those mentioned.

Internazionale's Mateo Kovacic is an exciting young player who can thread a pass through the eye of a needle. Beginning his career at Dinamo Zagreb, Inter snapped the 20 year old up for a total sum of €15m in January 2013. He is highly rated by the coaching staff at Internazionale, which is emphasised through receiving the infamous number 10 jersey upon his arrival at the Guiseppe Meazza. Making 45 appearances for the first team at Inter, a glorious World Cup could see him cement himself in Walter Mazzari's first team plans for the coming season. Even at the tender age of 20, Kovacic has several honours attached to his name. These include a successful time at Zagreb where he lifted the domestic double, and being awarded Croatian Football Hope of the Year in 2011. The Croatian playmaker became the second youngest scorer in the Premier League as he scored a goal in the last group game against Lyon. 

Kovacic has the ability to control a game of football and will become the pinnacle of the Inter team in the future. Due to the large fee Inter paid for him, it will take a lot of money to prize him from the clutches of Mazzari. The Croatian international has had many respected admirers in the past, including Ajax, Bayern Munich and Juventus who scouted him when he was 13, and also attracted the attention of Arsenal Chief Scout, Steve Rowley, who was reported to have watched him perform several U17 matches while at Zagreb. Capped at senior level for Croatia 8 times, it is likely that Kovacic will be heading to Brazil in less than 2 weeks with his national team which re-ignite the interest from top European clubs.

While the spotlight is all on the Saints' youth academy, many teams are forgetting about the vast amounts of talent located in Italy. I am sure that these players would be available for less cash than some of the English players. While I may have only discussed 3 players, there certainly are lot more, including Mauro Icardi and Victor Ibarbo. All of these players are destined to achieve great things and, with the correct tutoring, I don't see why they cannot achieve it.