Serie A: 20 Players to Watch in Italy This Season

Italy's top flight, Serie A, kicks off this coming weekend as Juventus begin the defence of their throne without manager Antonio Conte.

Long has Italy's highest division been a favourite to watch amongst diehard fans and neutrals alike, and with good reason given the amount of serious talent on display each week.

The league houses some of the biggest club names of all time—AC Milan, Internazionale, Napoli and AS Roma, as well as the aforementioned Turin champions—and all of those teams have plenty of household names worth watching as the season unfolds.

Following up our 20 Bundesliga players to watch in Germany article, here are their Italian counterparts.

Sebastian Giovinco, Juventus

The "Atomic Ant" Sebastian Giovinco has returned to Juventus this summer after spending the past two seasons with Parma, who had him on a co-ownership deal.

A sprightly wide attacker with tricks aplenty, Giovinco is a regular in the Italian national squad with 10 caps to his name.

He will be expected to be an important part of the Juve side looking to retain their Serie A title this season.

Stephan El Shaarawy, AC Milan

Italy's hope for the next generation, AC Milan forward Stephan El Shaarawy made the breakthrough last season and will this time around hope to become a regular starter.

With the departures of Ibrahimovic and Cassano from the club, there is certainly an opening that El Shaarawy will look to take advantage of.

A clever player with good movement, the former Genoa youngster will hope to add more goals to his name than the four he scored last season, but he's certainly one of the most promising talents in the country.

Edinson Cavani, Napoli

Normally the very top players and most well-known names wouldn't be included on this type of list, but Cavani bears naming this time around.

One of the most powerful and prolific strikers playing in Europe over the past few seasons, he will be interesting to watch—as well as his team in general—because of the loss of his fellow attacker, Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Cavani rightly gets many plaudits because of his huge contribution, but Lavezzi was a selfless runner, a hugely skillful player and his work allowed Cavani to function the way he has, and get the success because of it.

Time will tell if Napoli replaced him well enough and if Cavani can replicate his goal tallies without him, compared to his 49 goals in 68 Serie A appearances over the past two years.

Erik Lamela, Roma

Erik Lamela is about to enter his second campaign with AS Roma, having joined them in summer 2011 from relegated River Plate in Argentina.

Left-footed, precociously talented and blessed with vision like few other youngsters, Lamela is a huge talent who could seriously blossom this year.

Lamela scored four league goals last season but is more important as a creator of chances than a finisher of them himself. He could lead Roma back to the big time.

Matias Fernandez, Fiorentina

Chilean attacking midfielder Matias Fernandez joins Fiorentina this summer, as La Viola seek to replace the creativity lost with the departure of Riccardo Montolivio.

Capable of playing centrally or from either flank as a creator of goalscoring opportunities, "Matigol" is a good dribbler and uses close control and his quick turn of pace to evade opponents.

After enjoying a good spell in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon, Fernandez should prove a useful acquisition for Fiorentina.

Vladimir Weiss, Pescara

Slovakian winger Vladimir Weiss has finally left Manchester City this summer after several loan spells, failing to break into the first team.

That in itself is no embarrassment, given the talents available to the Citizens in wide areas.

Weiss is a skilful, fast and direct player who loves to run at defenders into space in the final third. He also has an eye for scoring a few goals a season.

He should prove a wise buy for Pescara and could feasibly play his way back into a top side if he shows consistency to go with his ability.

Alexander Merkel, Genoa

Alexander Merkel is a genuinely top talent who could shine as one of the best players in a league despite not playing this term for a top side.

Having made the initial breakthrough with AC Milan, Merkel joined Genoa on a co-ownership deal which they have since made permanent, owning 100 percent of his rights.

Merkel is a talented central midfielder who's not afraid to get stuck but is best utilized in passing the ball about the entire pitch and supporting the attacking players.

Fredy Guarin, Inter Milan

Fredy Guarin is an important part of Colombia's resurgent generation that is hoping to play their way back into contention of playing in World Cups after a decade or two in the international wilderness.

Guarin is a tough tackler and composed on the ball, and he has spent part of a season on loan at Inter Milan before they were convinced enough to pay €11 million for him to sign permanently this summer.

He is a talented player but has yet to convince at the highest level—but Inter clearly see him as part of their restructuring and if he finds his form and confidence, he could be a monster midfielder.

Paul Pogba, Juventus

Lanky central midfielder Paul Pogba joins Juventus this summer after a drawn-out departure from Manchester United, who had shown a great inclination to keep him at the club, playing him in the end of season fixtures for 2011-12.

The loss of such a promising talent will grate on manager Alex Ferguson.

Pogba has made his decision and now needs to show he made the right one by making it difficult for the incoming Juve manager to leave him out of the side, despite his youth.

Hernanes, Lazio

One of Lazio's most important and impressive performers over the past two seasons, Hernanes is an excellent midfielder, whether playing in the deeper or more advanced central positions.

Equally capable striking the ball with either foot, he creates plenty of chances and is heavily involved in build-up play but also loves getting into the box late and scoring goals himself.

At 27, his move to Italy probably came a little too late to have a big impact at the international level, but Hernanes is certainly appreciated in his club football and should have a great season ahead of him again this year.

Gaston Ramirez, Bologna

Gaston Ramirez may yet not start the season with Bologna after rumours linking him with Premier League sides Liverpool and then promoted Southampton continue to swirl.

Ramirez is a technical player who can play either centrally or from the flank, an attacking midfielder with an eye for the spectacular goal, clever assist or set-piece opportunity.

The Uruguayan has jumped ahead of compatriot Nicolas Lodeiro in the international squad, which is a testament to his talent.

Antonio Nocerino, AC Milan

Formerly a more defensive or holding midfielder at Juventus and initially at Palermo, AC Milan pulled off the signing of last season with a swoop of just €500,000  for Antonio Nocerino before rejuvenating him in his more usual advanced role.

The Italian midfielder scored 10 times in Serie A in his first season at Milan, more than he'd scored in the previous four seasons combined.

Nocerino should be an even more important part of the AC Milan team this year after several veterans, including Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso, left the club this summer.

Roberto Pereyra, Udinese

Along with Erik Lamela, Roberto Pereyra was one of the star youngsters who left Argentine side River Plate after their relegation in summer 2011.

Usually a left-sided attacker, Pereyra loves to cut inside and use his right foot to cross or shoot toward goal.

A tricky wide forward, he has an abundance of skill and should continue to improve and grow into a much more important player for Udinese, who he played 10 times for in the league last season.

Michael Bradley, Roma

Roma's new midfielder, Michael Bradley, has already proven himself more than capable of playing in Europe, but the step up to his new team will be one with pressures similar to that of playing for his national side.

Bradley will be expected to be an effective box-to-box player with his stamina, penchant for attacking the box late and physicality, helping Roma amass far more points than they managed in 2011-12.

The American has the talent and the experience despite his relatively youthful age of 25.

Abel Hernandez, Palermo

He's got talent, that's for sure, but the football world is still just about waiting for Abel Hernandez to have a really explosive breakout season.

Palermo will be hoping this one is it.

Pace, power, terrific left-foot shot and good movement. Hernandez has it all for a striker and just needs to add conviction and consistency to his game—and the many more goals which is capable of.

Partly due to not quite managing to be a first-team starter all the time, Hernandez has yet to hit double figures in league goals yet in Italy. Now aged 22, he could blossom into one of the league's most feared strikers if he worked at becoming more reliable in front of goal.

Sotiris Ninis, Parma

Five-and-a-half years after making his Panathanaikos debut as a 16-year-old, during which time he played well over 100 games for the club, this summer Sotiris Ninis took the step out of playing in his home country of Greece and signed for Parma.

Though he has at times had trouble with injuries and inconsistency, Ninis' technique and ability on the ball are unquestioned.

Playing either from the right or in a more creative central position, Ninis could be a real game-changer for his new club.

Arturo Vidal, Juventus

The non-stop energy and excellent final third technique of Arturo Vidal, Juventus' Chilean midfielder, contributed greatly to their unbeaten, title-winning campaign of 2011-12.

In his first year in Italy, Vidal scored nine times from midfield, excelling in a box-to-box role with licence to join the attack as often as possible.

Vidal is a genuinely top-class talent who would be far more heralded if he came from a different South American country. He is an integral part of the Juventus team and will again play a huge role in the coming campaign.

Antonio Cassano, Inter Milan

Pictured here playing for AC against Inter, Antonio Cassano will be experiencing the 2012-13 Milan derbies from the perspective of the other half of the city.

AC Milan signed Giampaolo Pazzini from Inter, which resulted in Cassano (and €7 million) heading in the opposite direction.

As showcased in Euro 2012, Cassano still retains an excellent work ethic, quality on the ball and an eye for goal, as well as vision and intelligence in the final third.

Cassano will now have represented Bari, Roma, Sampdoria, AC Milan and Inter Milan in Serie A.

Mattia Destro, Roma

One of the brightest young hopes of Italian football, Mattia Destro has signed for Roma this summer as a replacement for similarly talented youngster Fabio Borini.

Playing for Siena last season, the young centre forward scored 12 times in Serie A and at just 21 years of age, he has recently made his debut for the full Italian national side.

Destro is good in his movement off the ball and is a tidy finisher.

Gabriel, AC Milan

AC Milan took the decision this summer to sign young Brazilian goalkeeper Gabriel, who helped his team capture a silver medal at the Olympics last month in London.

The deal, said to be worth around half a million euro, was able to be completed as Gabriel holds a European passport, thereby not affecting AC Milan's non-EU quota.

Gabriel is a talented young 'keeper but will likely not be in the first team immediately, with Marco Amelia being an established player. But if he gets his chance, Gabriel certainly has the ability to supplant the Italian and keep his own place between the sticks.

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