Five eye-catching switches to Serie A in the winter window

With the winter transfer window in full flow, many of the top-flight Italian sides have made rapid movement in securing big names for the remainder of this current season.

Coral writers analyse five of the best Serie A switches that have been confirmed as part of this year’s top European football transfer deals.

Manolo Gabbiadini
Current league leaders Juventus recently announced that they had ended their co-ownership agreement for the 23-year-old striker. Rafael Benitez’s Napoli, 50/1 to win Serie A, now have complete ownership of Italy international Gabbiadini, with a reported fee of €13m being split between Sampdoria and Juventus, with each having previously had 50 per cent ownership of his services.

The Old Lady will be paid their €6.25m share over four years despite Gabbiadini never actually making an appearance for Massimiliano Allegri’s side. Netting nine times in 15 outings for Sampdoria this season, he earned his first senior Azzurri cap for Italy in 2012, playing in the second half of a friendly against England in Bern. Gabbiadini will now face competition from the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Duvan Zapata for a starting place in the Napoli line-up.

Xherdan Shaqiri
Roberto Mancini snapped up the Swiss playmaker from Bayern Munich, with the 23-year-old claiming he turned down a move to the Premier League. Swiss star Shaqiri signed a deal keeping him at the San Siro until 2019, with Inter Milan hoping his arrival can boost their chances of earning a Champions League place this season.

Kosovo-born Shaqiri joined Bayern from Basel in 2012, and went on to win two Bundesliga titles and the 2013 Champions League with the German outfit, but he struggled to establish himself regularly in the first team. The ferocious forward made his debut in a goalless draw with Empoli, but the result manages to move his new team within five points of fourth spot.

Maxi Lopez
Torino enhanced their striking options by landing Argentine forward Lopez from Chievo Verona. The Bull become the fifth Italian club of the 30-year-old’s career, after only netting once in nine outings for Chievo since his summer switch from Catania.