At the start of the 2024/25 Serie A campaign, few of us would have correctly predicted the Scudetto winners, nor would we have picked out the Capocannoniere champion, but the preseason transfer activity changed the face of the campaign.
There were some stellar signings in summer 2024 and more activity in the January window, but none made more Serie A 2025 highlights than the arrival of Scott McTominay in a £25.7 million switch from Manchester United. The Scotland midfielder landed in August, alongside fellow Scot Billy Gilmour from Brighton, and nobody could have predicted the huge impact he would have in Naples.
Napoli won their second Scudetto in three years as they beat Cagliari on the final day to stay a point ahead of Inter Milan, and it was McTominay who settled I Partenopei’s nerves with a spectacular scissor-kick goal just before the break. Another summer recruit, Romelu Lukaku, reunited with manager Antonio Conte, scored a superb individual goal to wrap the game and the title up.
McTominay has been simply sensational. And, at 28 years of age, he is in his prime. So, pound for pound, he must be the best signing in Europe over the past 12 months. At Old Trafford, he was often employed as a defensive midfielder, scoring 19 goals in 178 games over seven seasons. But Conte has unlocked his potential as an all-action box-to-box player, and McTominay has responded with 12 goals and four assists, making him the joint-seventh top scorer in the Italian top-flight, alongside Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez.
When Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia left Naples in the January window following midfielder Piotr Zielinski, who went to Inter in summer, Napoli fans feared the worse. But their team, led by McTominay, has delivered.
The SBOTOP Serie A 2025 betting odds predicted a Nerazzurri title at the start of this campaign, and while they have fallen marginally short, they have a great chance to become kings of Europe when they meet PSG in the Champions League final this weekend. Zielinski was a shrewd signing for Inter, as was striker Mehdi Taremi from Porto, and both could have a big impact against the Parisiens on Saturday.
Retegui’s Capocannoniere
When Mateo Retegui switched from Genoa to Atalanta last summer, he wasn’t the favourite to win the Capocannoniere, but he has led the list of top scorers from the off, finishing with 25 league goals, six more than Fiorentina’s Moise Kean, his nearest rival.
At Genoa, the Argentine-born striker showed promise, scoring seven goals in 29 games. But at Atalanta, under the guidance of Gian Piero Gasperini, Retegui has flourished. Alongside the excellent Ademola Lookman, who has scored 15 goals, Retegui is part of a lethal partnership which fired La Dea back into the Champions League with a third-place finish. La Dea also picked up the signing of Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere from AC Milan, and the 24-year-old is starting to realize his undoubted potential, linking well with the front two and weighing in with some crucial goals too.
Retegui scored the winner in a five-goal thriller against his old club recently, and Genoa might be thinking they should have held out for more than €28 million.
Kolo Muani breathes life into the Old Lady
Juventus have been out of sorts since they last won the Scudetto in 2020, averaging fourth place finishes. But even that looked unlikely earlier this season in a competitive chase for the Champions League places.
Star striker Dusan Vlahovic was struggling to carry the load up front, but when Randal Kolo Muani moved on loan from PSG to Juventus in January, the Old Lady had a second wind and put together a strong set of results to earn that fourth position and take their place at Europe’s top table.
When Juve met top four rivals Lazio recently, Kolo Muani scored the crucial goal which gave I Bianconeri a 1-1 draw to keep Lazio at arm’s length, and that made it eight for the campaign from 16 games. His pace, strength, and eye for goal has been a real boost to Juventus, and Vlahovic has enjoyed more space since the French international arrived.
One place below Juve, Roma finished fifth to qualify for the 2025/26 Europa League, and that was some achievement after they spent much of the first half of the campaign in midtable. The return to the dugout of Claudio Ranieri changed I Giallorossi’s fortunes, and they were in the hunt for a top four place right up to the final day.
The summer signing of Ukrainian striker Artem Dovbyk from Girona was a good move, and he has led the line well, scoring 12 goals to sit alongside Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca, Martinez, and McTominay as the league’s seventh top scorer.
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