Juventus clinched the 2015-16 Serie A title on Monday following Napoli‘s 1-0 loss against AS Roma, winning their fifth consecutive Italian title. 

The Old Lady overcame early-season adversity and the departures of several key figures to put together one of the best runs in club history, locking up the title with weeks to spare.

The team confirmed the news of their title on Monday:

The Bianconeri lost star midfielders Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo during the summer, as well as forward Carlos Tevez, and they started their title defence in the worst possible way, winning just one of their first five Serie A contests.

Injuries to Sami Khedira and Claudio Marchisio didn’t help, and just a few weeks into the campaign, it looked as if Juventus’ impressive run of dominance in Serie A would end.

But the emergence of young forward Paulo Dybala, who joined the club from Palermo during the summer, signalled a quick change in fortunes. A key win over rivals Torino, thanks to a last-minute goal from loanee Juan Cuadrado, started Juventus’ rise up the standings.

Here are the highlights of that match:

With Khedira and Marchisio returning to form and Paul Pogba overcoming an early-season slump, Juventus returned to their dominant ways and went on a 15-match win streak that lasted up until a scoreless draw with Bologna in February.

Per ESPN FC’s Mina Rzouki, it marked the second-longest win streak in Serie A history, with only Inter Milan doing better in the 2006-07 campaign.

Manager Massimiliano Allegri never cared one bit about the run, however. Per Goal, he told reporters he only had the title on his mind back in January:

I do not care. I’d like to go for 20 straight wins, but even then maybe we would not win the Scudetto.

The run is proving successful, although I did not expect it happen so quickly. There are still 16 games left, but we are in a good period and now we have to continue like this and improve further.

But Juventus wasn’t the only club winning matches in bunches. Led by the ridiculous scoring form of Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli kept hold of the top spot in the standings for much of the season, setting up the biggest contest of the campaign, one week before Juventus would drop points against Bologna.

The Partenopei travelled to Turin for a potential title-decider and put together a valiant effort, but a wonder goal from Simone Zaza handed the Old Lady the three points and top spot in the standings. Here are the highlights of that match:

Earlier in the contest, star defender Leonardo Bonucci prevented Napoli from taking the lead by making a key interception on Higuain. Per Bleacher Report’s Adam Digby, it may have been just as important as Zaza’s strike:

The win proved to be the turning point of the title race. Napoli’s form deteriorated in the following weeks, and a three-week suspension for Higuain after he criticised an official in a loss against Udinese effectively ended Napoli’s challenge, per Silvia Recchimuzzi of Reuters (for the Daily Mail).

Meanwhile, Juventus continued their superb form, via Vince Van Genechten of Football Italia:

After the dreadful start to the campaign, Juventus’ season was filled with highlights. Dybala quickly filled Tevez’s shoes and established himself as one of the best young forwards in Europe, and centre-back Daniele Rugani came on strong, setting himself up for a true breakout campaign next season.

Along the way, veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon also set a new Serie A record, going 973 minutes without conceding a single goal. The record was previously held by Milan’s Sebastiano Rossi.

Juventus honoured the club legend in a peculiar way, releasing a video with some of his top saves that was well over 16 hours long:

While UEFA Champions League success eluded the club, losing a heart-breaker against Bayern Munich in which the Bianconeri came within minutes of shocking the Bundesliga giants at the Allianz Arena, the 2015-16 season was still a success for the Old Lady.

Picking a season MVP is almost impossible, although Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli displayed more consistency in defence than anyone else in the team. Dybala’s creativity often made the difference for the Old Lady, and Buffon continued to defy Father Time, putting together yet another excellent season.

New stars like Dybala, Alex Sandro and Rugani gave the fans a glimpse of the future, while Pogba continued his development and easily ranked among Europe’s best all-round midfielders by the time the title race was over.

Keeping hold of those young talents will be key during the summer transfer window, and if Allegri can do that, Juventus will start the 2016-17 season as the overwhelming favourites to win yet another Scudetto.

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Chelsea are set to make a shock move for Manchester City flop Stevan Jovetic, per Paul Hetherington of the Daily Star.

The Montenegro striker is on loan in Italy with Inter Milan, with the Serie A club reportedly legally committed to signing the player in the summer.

The Milan giants initially agreed to a £2 million loan fee for the 26-year-old in order to keep him at the club for the 2015-16 campaign, with an additional £12.5 million deal signed to take him on board full-time.

However, following his season-long stay at the San Siro, Inter are now no longer interested in keeping the player at the club and are seeking buyers. 

Per Hetherington, incoming Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte is an admirer of the attacking playmaker in spite of his inconsistencies and twice tried to sign him from Fiorentina during his time as Juventus manager.

Following a failed venture into English football with Manchester City, Jovetic—purchased for £23 million in 2013—was sent back to Italy after Inter offered him an escape road.

However, his return to Serie A has gone equally as badly. Per WhoScored.com, the forward has scored just six goals in 23 appearances in the league this season and is well down in the pecking order behind club captain Mauro Icardi. 

Jovetic chose the right time to impress possible suitors on Saturday, as he was given a rare start at the Giuseppe Meazza and scored twice to help his side come from behind to secure a 3-1 win over Udinese.

Inter’s official Twitter account almost sounded surprised to see Jovetic’s name on the scoresheet twice:

Udinese have taken a battering from the Montenegro international this term, as detailed by WhoScored.com:

Conte is reportedly unfazed by Jovetic’s £90,000-per-week contract at City and is prepared to take a chance on the striker despite a paltry return of eight goals in 30 appearances during his time at the Etihad, per Soccerway.

One Inter player who looks unlikely to be joining Stamford Bridge this summer is central defender Jeison Murillo, per Rai Sport (h/t Goal.com’s Joe Wright).

The Colombia international has voiced his intent to remain at Inter, despite speculation surrounding a possible move to the Premier League.

The powerful centre-half shone at last summer’s Copa America and produced an excellent defensive display when faced against Brazil’s Neymar during their group-stage clash.

The 23-year-old has continued that form into this term and is one of Inter boss Roberto Mancini’s key first-team members.

Per Calcio Mercato (h/t Metro’s Max Miller), Italy boss Conte attended Inter’s 2-0 win over Napoli last week in order to cast a watchful eye over his performance firsthand.

However, per Wright, Murillo has denied the rumours linking him with a move away, as he told Rai Sport: “I want to stay at Inter. I am an Inter player and am not thinking about the future right now. 

“Coming to Serie A has really helped me improve, although it was difficult at first to adapt to a very tactical and physical league.”

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is expected to hand Conte a war chest when the Italian takes over as Chelsea manager after Euro 2016, with the club enduring an awful campaign in 2015-16 after achieving a Premier League and League Cup double under Jose Mourinho last season.

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Left foot, right foot, head: It was late November in the southeast of the Spanish capital, and with a wonderfully rounded hat-track that featured a goal with each body part, one of La Liga’s in-form forwards had confirmed himself as the story of the season to that point. 

Personally, he was surging. His team was hot. The goals were pouring in. The Spanish top-flight admittedly has always been a high-scoring league, but still this was surprising, and for one main reason: It wasn’t one of the usual suspects doing it. 

Indeed, this was not Lionel Messi, Neymar or Luis Suarez; not Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema or Gareth Bale. 

No, it was Aritz Aduriz. 

In Athletic Bilbao’s 3-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano, Aduriz with his hat-trick steered Athletic to their seventh win in eight and his goal tally beyond that of anyone in Spain. These were the Basque’s eighth, ninth and 10th goals of the season in the league; his 18th, 19th and 20th in all competitions—more than the then-swashbuckling Neymar and Suarez, more than the then-rampant Benzema. More than anyone. 

“Aduriz lays waste to Vallecas,” proclaimed AS, the game in Spain taking notice of something or someone outside the capital or Catalonia in a way it often doesn’t. Aduriz’s manager, Ernesto Valverde, was enamoured too. 

“He’s a treasure,” said the Athletic boss of Aduriz. “He represents the culmination of the way we play, we have to hope that Barcelona don’t sign him.”

Valverde’s admiration was real, but the Barcelona comment was more of a gag. Then 34 and now 35, Aduriz is beyond the age for a move to the Camp Nou, but what Valverde was playing on was the customary fear many of the country’s clubs have harboured: Have a star player? Barcelona or Real Madrid will take him. Built a strong team? They will gut it. 

This has always been the existence of Spain’s “other” clubs, but now in this context there’s a new threat. One that’s diverse, distant and very different, but just as rich. Maybe even more so. 

The Premier League. 

When England’s top division signed its historic £5.13 billion TV rights deal with Sky and BT Sport last February that will kick in at the beginning of next season (that figure will rise to in excess of £8 billion with the addition of money from overseas rights), the landscape of European football was always going to shift. 

“I am surprised by the size of it,” admitted Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore at the time. “Burnley are now, economically, bigger than Ajax.”

Scudamore was right: Last summer, Burnley spent double in the market what Ajax did, per Transfermarkt, and even ahead of the arrival of the tidal wave of cash, the Premier League’s clubs—all of them, not just the elite—raided the squads of domestic champions and title contenders all over Europe in the most ominous of manners. 

Ominous? Yep, consider this bunch: Newcastle United took Georginio Wijnaldum, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba from PSV Eindhoven, Anderlecht and Marseille, respectively. Sunderland snatched Jeremain Lens from Dynamo Kyiv. Aston Villa grabbed Jordan Amavi from Nice and Idrissa Gueye from Lille. West Bromwich Albion landed Jose Salomon Rondon from Zenit Saint Petersburg. 

The list goes on. 

Southampton signed Jordy Clasie from Feyenoord. Swansea City lured Andre Ayew from Marseille. Stoke City grabbed Xherdan Shaqiri from Inter Milan. Crystal Palace took Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint-Germain. West Ham United bought Dimitri Payet and Angelo Ogbonna from Marseille and Juventus. Leicester City signed Gokhan Inler and Christian Fuchs from Napoli and Schalke. Bournemouth signed Max Gradel from Saint-Etienne. Watford got Jose Manuel Jurado from Spartak Moscow. 

The Premier League’s financial power is obvious. European football now has a landscape in which, according to the Deloitte Football Money League, Everton have more cash than Inter Milan, and in which West Ham—even ahead of what will be a highly beneficial move to London’s Olympic Stadium—are essentially on par with Atletico Madrid. 

“The Premier League could become the NBA of football,” warned La Liga president Javier Tebas earlier this month. “The risk is there.”

It is. Though the positions of Barcelona and Real Madrid aren’t threatened here, those of Spain’s other clubs are. The likes of Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla, Villarreal and Celta Vigo, everyone really. For them, the threat now comes from home and abroad. In the coming months and years, Valverde might find himself replacing “we have to hope that Barcelona don’t sign him,” with “we have to hope that Crystal Palace don’t sign him.”

This is the new reality. 

And a crunch summer looms for La Liga. 

Beyond a suddenly juicy title race, one of the major themes of the current season in La Liga has been the continuation of a certain and encouraging levelling-out process that’s been evident since 2013. Of course, the Primera Division is highly unlikely to ever take on the dynamic of the current Premier League campaign, but the once-colossal gap between them and the rest has narrowed.  

Only fractionally, yes, but enough to be significant. 

Between 2010 and 2013, La Liga essentially became two leagues. At the top, Barcelona and Real Madrid took their excellence to unprecedented levels, but elsewhere, the financial crisis crippled the rest. Their spending slashed, their need to sell heightened, their squads ripped apart, wages going unpaid and clubs going through administration, those outside the Bernabeu and Camp Nou couldn’t compete in any capacity, essentially rendered irrelevant by Barcelona and Madrid. 

Indeed, in 2009-10, the Catalans won the title with 99 points ahead of Madrid on 96. Pep Guardiola labelled the tallies “f—ing barbaric,” and yet they hadn’t stopped going north. In 2011-12, Madrid won the league with 100 points. The next season, Barcelona did the same. 

In the former, third-place Valencia were closer on points to relegation than the title.

“[This league is] rubbish,” said then-Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido in September 2011, per the Guardian‘s Sid Lowe, “the biggest pile of junk in Europe.” 

At the time, Del Nido had a point. But not so much now. 

In 2013-14, Atletico emerged as a third Spanish power in extraordinary fashion to claim the title with 90 points, the lowest tally by a distance since Barcelona won with 87 in 2008-09. Last season, Barcelona—yeah, that Barcelona—were triumphant with “only” 94, while this season’s title will be won with a maximum of 91. 

Evidently, the league is levelling out to a certain extent. Once a 100-point league, now it’s a 90-point affair. Madrid and Barcelona have competition. Atletico have cemented their position as contenders. Valencia have new financial strength. Villarreal are excellent, and so are Sevilla. Athletic Bilbao’s level is remarkable given their strict transfer policy. Celta are overachieving considerably. Eibar and Las Palmas are even more so, and Real Sociedad will come again. Spanish clubs are dominating both tiers in Europe. 

As such, La Liga right now is perhaps the strongest it’s been in years, a number of factors culminating in an improved top-to-bottom (or at least top-to-middle) strength: savvy scouting, excellent youth development, coaching depth, the easing of financial turmoil and, perhaps as a result, the presence of standouts outside Barcelona and Madrid. 

The issue, though, is that these standouts, from now on, will be financially accessible to all those in the Premier League, almost regardless of who and where they are.

Indeed, newly promoted clubs in England will see more cash than many of their established counterparts in Spain. In London, West Ham and Palace will be financial giants in comparison with Sevilla or Villarreal. On the south coast, Southampton and Bournemouth could go shopping almost anywhere in Spain. Leicester’s pulling power will only increase. Watford is now the primary focus of the Pozzo family who also owns Granada. Stoke have already shown they’re now keen on Spanish talent. The surging Tottenham Hotspur are now heavyweights with a manager who knows all about La Liga. 

And then there are the traditional powerhouses: The Manchester giants, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. 

This summer, Spain’s “other” clubs could be raided, severely, and the talent to be found is rich and exciting: Cedric Bakambu, Eric Bailly and Mateo Musacchio at Villarreal; Shkodran Mustafi at Valencia; Kevin Gameiro and Grzegorz Krychowiak at Sevilla; Nolito at Celta Vigo; Inaki Williams and Aymeric Laporte at Athletic; Borja Baston, Sergi Enrich and Keko at Eibar; Lucas Perez at Deportivo La Coruna; Ignacio Camacho at Malaga.

There are plenty of others, too. That’s just scratching the surface.

Thus, La Liga as a whole is closing in on a pivotal summer. Hang on to the stars and limit the damage, and the league will be just fine; suffer heavy losses across the board everywhere except Barcelona and Madrid, and it could be taken back half a decade, several years of progress wiped out. 

“We hope to grow so the Premier League does not become the biggest competition in the world and we can be at the same level economically,” said Tebas recently, per Azi Farni of BBC Sport. “We do not want the Premier League as a leader one step ahead of the rest. We plan to work harder in the TV rights market and in the sponsorship market to get more money.”

In that respect, La Liga has taken steps. This season in Spain has featured the league’s first TV rights deal negotiated collectively, and from the beginning of next season, such a process will be mandated by law. 

The league is also working to make its kick-off times more friendly for an array of international markets such as the United Kingdom and Asia, the idea of taking competitive games overseas has been floated, Tebas continues to champion the merits of third-party ownership for competitive balance, and offices are being opened on several continents. 

These are steps in the right direction, yes, but genuine progress will take time even though it’s time that La Liga might not have. The Premier League’s financial strength is snowballing, its presence all-consuming for those with the responsibility of responding to it. 

“The risk is there,” as Tebas acknowledged. 

That risk, that threat: It’s set to ramp up come the summer, when clubs like Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla, like Villarreal and Celta—the clubs whose success is levelling out La Liga to an extent—will brace themselves, hoping to ride out the potentially heavy raids. 

Of course, these clubs have experienced raids before, but now they will happen on a new scale. It’s not just Barcelona and Real Madrid who stand as the threat; it’s the likes of West Ham, Palace, Swansea, Everton, Bournemouth, Southampton and Watford too—clubs a step below the elite in their own country but who, financially, are light-years ahead of their equivalents across Europe. 

This is the new reality. 

For La Liga, the approaching summer is huge. 

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Football agent Jorge Mendes reportedly wants to add Manchester United‘s Marcus Rashford to his list of clients amid speculation the youngster is hoping to appoint someone to represent him in contract talks with the club. 

According to the Times (h/t Joe Short of the Express), the 18-year-old is set for a new deal at the end of the season and Mendes—who also represents the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, David De Gea and Jose Mourinho—wants to help the youngster as he “believes he is best placed to help Rashford maximise his earning potential at this flourishing stage of his career.”

Meanwhile, according to the Daily Mail‘s Chris Wheeler, Rashford is seeking an agent to represent him as his affairs are currently dealt with by his mother and brothers.

The striker is expected to receive a much-improved deal on his current £1,500 per week pay packet after netting seven goals in 13 senior appearances for the Red Devils this season.

Indeed, his emergence has been one of the few highlights of a largely disappointing campaign for United, and of the youngsters to impress in the first team this season he’s perhaps only behind Anthony Martial in terms of impact.

One recent effort was a sublime strike against West Ham United to send United into the FA Cup semi-final, as shared by BT Sport Football:

Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News gave his take on the goal and believes Rashford has the attributes to prove his impact is not just a flash in the pan:

Bleacher Report UK’s Sam Tighe expressed as much after he’d made just two first-team appearances:

Per Sky Sports (h/t MEN‘s Samuel Luckhurst), Rashford has also impressed United legend Sir Alex Ferguson, who was known for bringing through young talent during his tenure at Old Trafford:

The youth graduate does look to have a bright future ahead of him, and the Red Devils will undoubtedly want to tie him down on a long-term contract that reflects his position as a first-team striker.

Given Wayne Rooney‘s poor form the club will likely pursue further attacking reinforcements to aid the England captain, Martial and Rashford, but securing the young striker’s future could be one of the best bits of business they do this summer.

Per Dan Gibbs of the Express, one such target could be Inter Milan‘s Mauro Icardi. The Argentinian may be prepared to listen to offers this summer if Inter do not qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

He told Mediaset Premium (h/t Gibbs): “My future without the Champions [League]? I am here to win with this club, but if there will be some offers, we’ll have to talk with the club. I think about playing.”

His side look likely to miss out as they sit seven points behind third-placed Roma in Serie A with four games remaining, and United could do with a prolific goalscorer who has netted 42 goals and assisted 12 in the last two seasons.

However, the Red Devils are hardly guaranteed a spot in Europe’s elite competition either, as they are in fifth amid a fierce battle with Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and West Ham United.

City or Liverpool could qualify for the competition by winning it or the UEFA Europa League respectively, so there’s a good chance United won’t qualify—in which case they may have to turn elsewhere.

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A comfortable 3-0 win over Lazio on Wednesday evening brought Juventus to the brink of another Serie A title, as the Bianconeri are now a mere four points away from clinching what would be a remarkable fifth consecutive Scudetto.

Having promised so much in the early part of 2015/16, challenges from AS Roma, Napoli and Inter Milan each crumbled, leaving the rest of Italian football’s top flight already looking ahead to next season.

Yet having been eliminated from the Champions League by Bayern Munich last month, the same is true for Juventus. Much to the dismay of their domestic rivals, the Turin-based side are hoping the future brings an even greater level of success, as coach Massimiliano Allegri explained shortly after their latest victory. OptaPaola provided an impressive Juventus stats:

“We made an impressive comeback in Serie A to win after that bad start, but we can still do even better,” the former Milan boss told Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia), also taking time to publicly ask the club to keep his current group of players together next term.

“We must confirm this squad, because it’s a young group and we want to do well in the Champions League,” Allegri said in that aforementioned interview. “Our exit this time was rather hard to swallow.”

Chief among those the 48-year-old will hope to see remain in the Old Lady’s famous black and white stripes are Paul Pogba and Paulo Dybala. Both have enjoyed excellent campaigns, and the duo were fundamental to the win against a Lazio side who never really threatened to turn this match into a genuine contest.

Their goalkeeper Federico Marchetti had already denied the Juve pair on a number of occasions in an open first half, but a 39th-minute corner would finally break his resistance. Pogba chested down a good ball from Hernanes at the far post, in turn firing it back across goal for Mario Mandzukic to prod home.

Breaking the deadlock, it marked the France international’s 10th assist of the season—equalling the league-high mark Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Miralem Pjanic (AS Roma) and Riccardo Saponara (Empoli) share—and continuing his own remarkable recent form.

Indeed, in his last six outings, Pogba has recorded four goals and five assists in all competitions, but there was no question Wednesday night belonged to Dybala as his powerful running, tenacity and skill constantly tormented Lazio.

The FourFourTwo StatsZone graphic in the tweet above highlights the scale of his impact in a match where he was simply irrepressible. Netting twice—one a penalty, one a right-footed strike from Sami Khedira’s neat pass—all six of his shots were on target while he also connected with 30 of his 34 passes—an impressive 88.2 percent success rate.

Creating one chance for a team-mate, his superb dribbling skills saw him complete four of the six take-ons he attempted, while his one interception and one block fail to accurately represent the defensive effort Dybala displayed here.

The Argentina native called it “a perfect night” in his post-match interview with Sky Italia (h/t Juventus.com), while his coach was only too happy to praise the striker as he spoke to Mediaset Premium.

“Dybala is a fine player and very intelligent,” Allegri said (h/t Football Italia). “He enjoys himself playing in almost a trequartista role, connecting the forwards to the midfield. He has very clear ideas on what he wants to do.”

The Juve boss will hope what the 22-year-old and his 23-year-old team-mate Pogba truly want is to remain at Juventus. With them playing prominent roles, La Madama can continue her domestic dominance and finally begin to enjoy tangible—and long overdue—success on the European stage.

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This season has been a strange one for AC Milan. It began last summer with hope of rejuvenation, though this quickly turned to fear of further decline. The team then showcased gradual improvements in the following months to climb into Serie A’s top six.

However, while a return to continental competition is on the cards, the Rossoneri are a long way off challenging the Italian football hierarchy. Juventus are nine points clear at the top of the league and on the cusp of securing a fifth consecutive Scudetto.

Behind the Bianconeri, Napoli and Roma look promising under the respective tutelages of Maurizio Sarri and Luciano Spalletti, while Roberto Mancini’s Inter Milan are also a rising force.

Sixth place represents progression for Milan, though this season has nonetheless been one of great turbulence. Sinisa Mihajlovic, who instigated much of the progress, is now gone, sacked following a run of five games without victory. In his place stands Cristian Brocchi, formerly the Primavera coach.

The future appears uncertain for the club, and while the intention remains to return to the top of Serie A once again, there are a number of changes that must happen in order to facilitate this.

Bolder football

One of the primary reasons given for the dismissal of Mihajlovic was the style of football the former Sampdoria coach perpetuated during his time in charge. Milan president Silvio Berlusconi was clear on this matter with a post on his official Facebook page, per Football Italia, stating:

I proudly defend all my choices from the first to the last, which is to correct with a change of coach a trend of football that was not up to the history of AC Milan.

Let us be clear, aside from the results, we have never seen Milan play so badly. With that in mind, at the end of the season and not now, evaluating the concrete results of this choice, we can make the best decisions in the interests of our Milan.

While perhaps exaggerated, there was a good amount of truth to Berlusconi’s words. The Rossoneri’s style of football under Mihajlovic was functional and, while more effective than what came before, was also dull to watch.

For too long Milan have been pragmatic, adapting to their opposition instead of imposing themselves in each and every game. The team need to play bolder, more assertive football if they are to re-establish themselves as serious contenders in Serie A.

Brocchi has discussed a desire to play a more proactive game, telling the club’s official website:

Pinning our opponents back in their own half and pressing will be something that I will request. We must have an aggressive mentality. When we’re in possession we have to keep hold of it for as long as possible and try and find the right solution and route to goal. This will take time.

Managerial resolution

Unfortunately, while he may have the right ideas, as it stands Brocchi is only in charge until the end of the season. At that point, Milan will either hire him permanently or, as has been rumoured, bring in a new first-team coach.

Should the Rossoneri go with someone else in the summer, they would be appointing their sixth coach in four years, following on from Massimiliano Allegri, Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi, Mihajlovic and now Brocchi.

This veritable coaching carousel has to end soon. If Milan want to make real gains on the pitch, they need to have the vision of one coach underpinning the team.

A number of strong candidates have been linked to the club, many of them with their own tactical preferences.

Sassuolo’s Eusebio Di Francesco is set to sign a contract extension with the Neroverdi, but he continues to be rumoured as a possibility to take over at Milan. The 46-year-old has implemented a coherent, attacking style of play within a 4-3-3 system at his current club, and he seems to have the combination of idealism and nous needed to establish his ideas at the San Siro.

Another man who would be able to remodel the club in his own adventurous image would be Fiorentina’s Paulo Sousa, who, according to ItaSportPress (h/t Football Italia) is also on the Rossoneri’s coaching wish list.

Both of the above would bring a bolder approach, but whoever is chosen, they will require the time necessary to wholeheartedly instil their ideals into the players. This means being given more than the 10 months afforded to Mihajlovic.

A more efficient transfer policy

This season, per Transfermarkt.co.uk, Milan’s net spend was higher than any other club in Serie A. Despite this, they have failed to even come close to a title challenge. Consequently, it’s worth investigating exactly how productive the club’s spending has been.

The £22.5 million fee paid for Carlos Bacca is being repaid, with the Colombian top-scoring for the side, while the £18.75 million signature of Alessio Romagnoli is a promising one, with the 21-year-old already maturing into a key member of the team’s defensive line.

However, the £15 million signing of Andrea Bertolacci looks more likely by the week to be a poor piece of transfer activity. The midfielder did not initially appear suited to Milan, who were more in need of a solid midfield bulwark than an elegant passer at the time of his arrival. His poor WhoScored.com rating of 6.78 is confirmation that he has not settled.

Luiz Adriano is another player who seems destined to underwhelm, having joined last summer from Shakhtar for a price of £6 million. Meanwhile, Juraj Kucka has proved to be perhaps the club’s only bargain, with his £2.25 million fee looking like a steal following some dynamic displays.

If Milan do appoint a coach with a clear tactical vision prior to next season, they will have to complement this with a more efficient transfer policy based on quality rather than quantity, with focus on specific areas of the team that need to be revamped.

The Rossoneri have improved this season, though in order to make the next step from European qualification contenders to Scudetto hopefuls, they need a coach with a bold tactical vision and a transfer policy to back it up.

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Arsenal‘s Emirates Cup, the club’s annual pre-season tournament hosted at their home ground, will not take place this year due to UEFA Euro 2016 and “essential pitch reconstruction works.”

The club announced the news on Monday via their official Twitter feed:

Work on a new playing surface at the Gunners’ Emirates Stadium is set to begin after their final home match of the season against Aston Villa on May 15.  

Club chief executive Ivan Gazidis explained the decision to cancel this year’s tournament, per the Arsenal website: “We know how popular the Emirates Cup is with our fans here in the UK and around the world, so we are disappointed that we will not be hosting it this summer. The shorter pre-season window and the need to relay our pitch has resulted in this decision being taken. We look forward to hosting the tournament in 2017.”

The inaugural Emirates Cup took place in 2007 and saw Arsenal prevail ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Valencia.

It has taken place every year since—apart from in 2012 because of the London Olympics—with Arsenal hosting the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, Boca Juniors and New York Red Bulls at the two-day tournament.

France’s Euro 2016 does not finish this summer until July 10, and the 2016-17 Premier League begins on August 13.

Arsenal already have plans for pre-season matches in the USA against the MLS All-Stars and Chivas de Guadalajara. 

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Jose Mourinho reportedly “fully supports” Manchester United targeting Benfica’s Renato Sanches and Everton‘s John Stones in the summer transfer window, with the Red Devils also eyeing Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Portuguese manager now “expects” to take over from Louis van Gaal as United manager in the summer and would back moves for centre-back Stones and midfielder Sanches having pursued them both when in charge at Chelsea, according to James Ducker in the Telegraph.

Ducker added that Paris Saint-Germain striker Ibrahimovic “has admitted he would happily play under Mourinho at United” and is out of contract with the Ligue 1 giants at the end of the season.

Recent reports indicated United could be willing to offer the 34-year-old a £600,000-a-week deal to join them in the summer, per Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport (via the Mirror‘s Aaron Flanagan).

French newspaper L’Equipe (via Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol) also recently reported United currently have no competitors for the Swede in the Premier League:

Despite his age, Ibra would undoubtedly be a fantastic addition to the United squad as the Red Devils are in desperate need of more proven firepower in attack.

The former Ajax, Juventus and Inter Milan star has netted 32 goals in Ligue 1 this season, just eight fewer than the entire United side have managed in their Premier League campaign, per WhoScored.com. 

With Mourinho potentially set to take over at Old Trafford—he managed the Swedish superstar previously at Inter—it seems highly likely that Ibrahimovic could be a United player next term.

Stones and Sanches would both be excellent signings in the long term for the Manchester giants.

Everton’s 21-year-old English centre-back has had a topsy-turvy season, but he has huge potential and could partner well with Chris Smalling at United.

Chelsea failed with numerous bids for Stones last summer, the last of which was worth £38 million, per the Daily Mail‘s Sami Mokbel.

With the England international’s contract at Goodison Park set to run until 2019, Everton will not let him go cheaply, but United have shown in recent transfer windows that they are not afraid to splash the cash.

Sanches, 18, is also unlikely to come cheap, with Benfica’s valuation of the youngster reportedly £46 million, per the Manchester Evening News‘ Alice McKeegan.

He has enjoyed a breakout season in 2015-16 and proved to be a potentially world-class box-to-box midfielder—see some of his highlights below:

With Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger both nearing the end of their respective careers, Sanches could be a future star in the middle of the park for United and could prove a perfect partner for Morgan Schneiderlin.

United are unlikely to be the only club interested in the Portuguese youngster this summer, but they can afford to pay big money for him, and the appointment of Mourinho as manager could prove the deciding factor in their bid to sign Sanches.  

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The moment he collapsed to the turf, it seemed serious. Making a tackle just 15 minutes into Juventus‘ Serie A clash with Palermo on Sunday, Claudio Marchisio‘s knee buckled. He fell in agony, clutching the joint while calling for help from the bench.

His side had already taken the lead when the midfielder was stretchered off and replaced by Mario Lemina, the Old Lady going on to secure a 4-0 triumph that—combined with Napoli‘s loss to Inter Milan on Saturday evening—opens their lead at the top of the table to nine points with just five games remaining.

Yet despite moving one step closer to what would be a historic fifth consecutive league title for the Bianconeri, Marchisio‘s health was the immediate concern of coach Massimiliano Allegri after the full-time whistle.

“It’s probably the cruciate ligament, we’ll have an evaluation tonight or tomorrow,” the Juve boss told Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia). He went on to say the club hoped those tests would show “it’s not that serious,” but when Allegri started his post-match press conference, he already knew it was.

“An MRI scan has confirmed that Claudio Marchisio has suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee,” read a statement on the club’s official website. “He will undergo surgery in the next few days.”

Out for the rest of the season—and almost certain to miss this summer’s UEFA European Football Championship with Italy—it is a desperate loss for all concerned, such is the importance of the 30-year-old to both club and country.

It is the same problem that blighted the Bianconeri in the early part of 2015/16, with Hernanes and Simone Padoin proving to be wholly inadequate replacements as Marchisio missed the first few matches of the campaign.

He returned in October’s 0-0 draw with Inter Milan, and Juve‘s form improved immediately, their record with him in the side making remarkable reading. Indeed, Marchisio has made 32 appearances in all competitions this term, with the Bianconeri registering 25 wins, six draws and just a single defeat in those matches.

The only loss was away to Sevilla in the Champions League, with his tally of zero goals and two assists failing to underline his influence on almost every performance. Fielded in the centre of Allegri’s three-man midfield, the team has altered shape around Marchisio, but he remains the key to its success.

According to statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, his average of 63.5 passes per game leads all Juventus players, connecting on an impressive 88.5 percent of those attempts as he commands the attacking flow of the side.

It is a similar story without the ball, as the same source shows only Paul Pogba (72) and Patrice Evra (51) have made more tackles than Marchisio‘s tally of 48, while his average of 2.8 interceptions is another team-high mark.

Lemina has blossomed into a fine deputy in recent weeks, but Juventus will be thankful the Serie A title race is no longer as tight as it once was and that so few weeks remain for Napoli to close the gap.

“It’s a terrible injury that happened to a serious professional, a treasure of our Juventus,” director general Beppe Marotta told RAI Radio 1 (h/t Football Italia) on Monday morning, adding his hope that the player “can return as soon as possible.”

That remains to be seen, but the Bianconeri will almost certainly miss the Turin native, a key figure at the centre of everything his hometown club has achieved in recent seasons under both Allegri and his predecessor, Antonio Conte.

With five league games and the Coppa Italia final awaiting, Juventus must find a way to win without Marchisio, something that has proved hugely difficult in the past.

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Having watched Inter Milan defeat Napoli on Saturday evening, Juventus Stadium welcomed Palermo on Sunday afternoon aware the hosts could extend their lead at the top of the Serie A table to nine points.

Fielding a full-strength starting XI, they would do just that. Juventus emerged comfortable winners in a game that ended 4-0 to the home side, thanks to goals from Sami Khedira, Paul Pogba, Juan Cuadrado and Simone Padoin.

In the buildup to this fixture, Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri explained that he was preparing to face a reinvigorated opponent after the Rosanero made their ninth coaching change of the campaign last week.

“It’s a tough game because they’ve spent the whole week on a training camp together and their Serie A survival is on the line,” Allegri told reporters at his most recent press conference, where he also discussed the prospect of winning a fifth consecutive league title.

The Livorno native called that “an exceptional achievement,” and this victory brings the Bianconeri another step closer to reaching that goal. What follows is a look at the individual winners and losers from the game in Turin, highlighting the best and worst performances from this Serie A fixture.

Begin Slideshow

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