The team to beat next season in Serie A

The summer transfer window is still in its early days. Very few signings of note have been concluded so far. Needless to say, all clubs in business are vying to lure those players they think can make the difference.

Many are those, including the big guns, who are playing the waiting game to bargain for prices as the old prosperous days of the Italian game now look to be a thing of the past.

Inter were the superior force in the Serie A these past couple of years. One obvious question follows. Will they continue to dominate in the Italian top flight now that Jose Mourinho is in charge?

And, which players will Juventus, Milan and Roma sign to bridge the gap and, possibly, surpass the champions in terms of quality?

As things stand at present, Inter are still rated among the best teams in the peninsula. Roberto Mancini was a wily coach, but, despite succeeding in making Inter invincible in the domestic scene, he was poor in the Champions League. Mourinho comes in with a proven pedigree of a sure winner and leader.

Inter boss Massimo Moratti said Inter will not sign too many players this summer, Chelsea's Frank Lampard being their chief transfer target.

Mourinho has often stated that between two to three top-notch additions to his squad would be more than sufficient to bolster an already strong and settled base.

Perhaps, what Mourinho needs to improve is the physical preparation of his players.

It is unacceptable for any club harbouring aspirations to lift the Champions Cup to be found wanting in the crucial February-March phase. It does not make any good sense for an ambitious club like Inter to peak, as happened these past two years, between October and January and then experience a dip in form in the straight for home.

There will be few changes at Inter with respect to last season but the same cannot be said of Milan and Juventus.

Gianluca Zambrotta, Marco Borriello and Mathieu Flamini are all notable signings but many reckon that they are not enough to take Milan to a higher level. More reinforcements are expected to be concluded by the Rossoneri in the coming weeks among whom a prolific striker and a defender.

Out-of-favour Barcelona schemer Ronaldinho is being continuously linked with a move to the San Siro but a striker like Didier Drogba would be more suitable to Milan's playing system unless Riccardo Kaka moves to Chelsea and Ronaldinho is signed to replace his Brazil compatriot. More updates on this 'possible' transfer move in the coming weeks.

Juventus are being very tactful on the transfer market. Coach Claudio Ranieri knows his players did really well to finish third last season considering that most of the new signings had failed to deliver.

But if Juve are to challenge for the 2008/09 league title, Ranieri, apart from the signing of Amauri (Palermo), Dario Knezevic (Livorno) and Olof Mellberg (free agent), needs to add, at least, a top quality defender and a central midfielder.

Juventus will compete in the third qualifying round of the Champions League next month and Ranieri will have to make sure that his players peak at the right time and, equally important, he should be able to call on reserves of strength.

Roma, like Inter, are not expected to make too many changes. They have been playing the best football in Italy ever since coach Luciano Spalletti took over.

Only the signing of a number of tried and tested players at top level football can really turn Roma into the best Italian team in circulation.

As things stand at the moment, many think that Roma, Milan and Juventus are still a rung or two behind champions Inter. But, this is football and we all know that the best team does not always prevail.