A series looking at the promoted sides from around Europe’s top 5 leagues. Up first:
US Sassuolo
The promoted side you’ll be most familiar with. The giant killers in years past suffered somewhat of a shock relegation in 23/24 and as expected have bounced back the first time of asking.
The more things change the more they stay the same
23/24 it seemed like everything went wrong for the Neroverdi. After 2 decent seasons the team fell apart around Dionisi. Ballardini joined in February but failed to keep Sassuolo up. Fabio Grosso took over in July 24 and did well with a stacked Serie B squad, he got them where they needed to go and now has the opportunity to prove himself.
Even with the new coach Sass look set up to play with the same identity they went down with. Wide open attacking football. They should continue to line up with a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, even if they still are yet to really replace Locatelli who bosses their midfield for 3 seasons. Boloca might be good enough for Serie B but Serie A seems a stretch fit him. Obiang was an okay solution but he is on his way to Monza now. Unless they are thinking about switching up philosophies Sassuolo will desperately need a defensive midfielder.
Departures
Pedro Obiang and Jeremy Toljan who played 38 and 37 matches respectively last season are the main departures so far. Sassuolo lose 75 appearances for a combined sum of €0. Even if both are aging and not at Serie A level that’s tough.
The newest star man to come out of the Mapei Stadium - Armand Lauriente could be on his way to Sunderland. The 26 year old winger banged in 19 goals last season. Sassuolo are demanding around €25 million for the Frenchman it seems like Sunderland will only pay between €15-20 mil. It will be tough to replace his production but if it’s between him and Berardi, Lauriente has to go. Sass need some cash to improve this squad.
Berardi - no doubt the 30 year old will be linked to Juve once again this summer. The Neroverdi might have missed their chance to cash in big for their superstar in previous summers but if they can get the funds to rebuild this squad they have to take it. Football is a business after all even if it would be fantastic to see Domenico stay his whole career with Sassuolo.
Arrivals
No news anywhere on plans to bolster Grosso’s group. It leads one to think they need to sell before they buy. They need help just about everywhere. If they are going to keep up with their usual crazy open attacking style if I were them I would prioritise DM and Striker. They need one or two solid defensive midfielders who can break up those many many transitions they’ll face. Lauriente was their top scorer in Serie B with 18 all from left wing. Pierini was next with 10 and he’s not really a proper striker either. If your main number 9 can’t hit double digits in Serie B there’s no hope one division up.
Muharemovic was made permanent this summer for €3 million. A decent deal for a 22 year old centre back who played 30 times for you last season. The big Bosnian will definitely start next season for Sass. On the left of a back 3 I’d be more than happy with that. But I worry he will struggle with the pacier forwards in Serie A. Keep an eye out for him I think he may be the breakout star of this Sassuolo squad next season.
Kind of like a new signing. Turati who was on loan at Monza last season will arrive and I assume start. The 23 year old Keeper performed okay at Monza last year. He kept just 2 clean sheets in 30 league appearances for a god awful Monza team. Sassuolo should be a little better all around than Monza maybe that will inspire the lad to some better performances.
The squad
The core of Berardi, Lauriente, and Thorstvedt is a good one. These are 3 very solid players and all are probably capable of playing for clubs challenging for the European spots. I like Doig a lot too but the rest of the squad is upper Serie B level right now.
They should be fun to watch at least don’t expect many clean sheets in Sassuolo matches. Find out when your favourite team plays Sass and book those tickets now, you could see 6 or 7 goals easily.
Expectations
Sassuolo are lucky to come up with Serie A in the state it is. 8 different teams could realistically go down next season, Genoa being the best of those. Even with the squad they have now staying up isn’t impossible. It’ll be tough they are probably on par with Cagliari and Lecce fighting for 17th or 16th at best.
If Berardi, Lauriente, or Thorstvedt go they will need to reinvest whatever money they get very hastily. Those 3 can keep them up. Whatever about the players around those 3 if one of these lads go that cash will have to be splashed bigly to replace them.
Prediction: 17th by a point
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