Serie A Preview: 8 Young Stars to Watch in Italy This Season

It hasn't been a good summer for Serie A. The Scommessopoli scandal, while not as big as the Calciopoli scandal, has further tarnished the league's reputation and resulted in Juventus coach Antonio Conte earning a 10-month ban pending appeals.

Meanwhile, AC Milan were among the league's top two sides last season, but have been significantly weakened with the loss of two of the team's best players. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva both left the San Siro for Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

Long-time stars Alessandro Nesta, Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso have also walked away from the club.

It doesn't get any better as you go further down the table, either.

Udinese have been weakened by the departures of Kwadwo Asamoah and Mauricio Isla, Napoli have lost Ezequiel Lavezzi to PSG, Roma have lost Fabio Borini and Parma have lost star Sebastian Giovinco to Juventus.

Though the league looks to be in real decline, it still is capable of producing top Italian talent for the national team and the bigger clubs of the world.

Here are the top 10 youngsters to watch in Serie A in 2012-13.

1. Stephan El Shaarawy, AC Milan

One player who will likely be pleased to see Zlatan Ibrahimovic leave AC Milan will be Stephan El Shaarawy.

With Ibrahimovic at the club, El Shaarawy had to compete with Antonio Cassano, Alexandre Pato, Robinho and others for playing time. It now looks likely that he will have for more opportunities to play.

El Shaarawy only made six starts for Milan last season, but recorded two goals and two assists. This good form, combined with promising displays in AC Milan's preseason, have prompted Cesare Prandelli to reward El Shaarawy with his first callup to the Italian national team.

Shortly after, he earned his first cap in the team's 2-1 loss to England.

El Shaarawy is a dangerous and quick striker with bags of ability, and if given an extended run of playing time, I expect him to handsomely repay AC Milan's faith in him.

2. Paul Pogba, Juventus

In the crowded and talented midfield of Juventus, Paul Pogba is unlikely to become a reliable starter for at least a year if not more.

Nevertheless, he'll likely start to see a similar amount of minutes to that which El Shaarawy saw last season. With his massive amount of talent, Pogba is expected to stand out and prove to be a capable, dependable replacement for Arturo Vidal whenever he is unavailable.

3. Philippe Coutinho, Inter Milan

So far, Philippe Coutinho has looked a changed man after returning from a loan spell with Espanyol. He scored for Inter Milan in the Europa League and has been one of the players to really capture the support of new manager Andrea Stramaccioni.

Coutinho has been hyped up for ages, yet he has failed to deliver year after year. Could this finally be the year we see the best of Coutinho?

4. Juan Jesus, Inter Mian

With Lucio gone for good, Inter have their work cut out for them as they look to replace their Brazilian talisman. Juan Jesus' presence will surely help replace Lucio, but Andrea Ranocchia, Matias Silvestre and Walter Samuel will be among those all fighting for playing time.

Juan Jesus did not look great for Brazil in defense at the Olympics, and was heavily criticized as a big reason why Brazil could not keep weaker teams off the scoresheet. Can he improve with Inter this season?

5. Emmanuel Badu, Udinese

With Kwadwo Asamoah gone from Udinese, Emmanuel Badu's opportunity to step up and become a star has finally arrived.

He showed us at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations that he is quite a player, and with the massive influx of playing time that he should receive in 2012-13, I expect he'll shine for Udinese.

6. Marco Faraoni, Udinese

Marco Faraoni was used as a deal-sealer in Samir Handanovic's transfer to Inter Milan, but he's quite the player himself.

Unfortunately, there are still very limited stats on him, but he appears to be good at attacking down the right flank and crossing the ball. Isla played on the right wing for Udinese, and Faraoni could potentially be a replacement for him over time.

7. Mattia Destro, Roma

Mattia Destro had a solid season for Siena, scoring 12 goals and helped his team avoid relegation.

This time around, the expectations are much higher for Destro. For one, Roma would likely love to see him score 15-plus goals. They also want to get as high up the table as they can.

The team is one of the youngest in the league, which isn't necessarily good since you need leadership to guide a young group. But we'll see.

Destro has yet to completely fail at a particular task, and I expect he'll continue trying to reach his limits.

8. Erik Lamela, Roma

Erik Lamela began his season with Roma in perfect fashion. He got to know his teammates and occasionally chipped in with a goal and assist.

When things started going downhill, Lamela's form suffered, and his goals and assists became far less frequent.

Now that 2011-12 is in the past, I expect Lamela will start fresh and live up to the massive amount of talent he possesses.

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