In his meeting with the media on the eve of the home match against Bologna last week, Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri said in principal he was against the January transfer window because it creates instability and distracts players from giving their 100 per cent on the field of play.

But, in stark contrast with his declaration, Allegri’s own club were among the first to sign a new player last week as the Italian champions agreed terms with mid-table Genoa for the transfer of defensive midfielder Tomas Rincon for a fee in excess of €10 million.

Juventus are not the only Serie A side willing to bolster their squad this month.

Napoli also raided Genoa in search of a suitable replacement – Leonardo Pavoletti – for Arkadiusz Milik who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury while on international duty for Poland in October.

Ironically, at the same time Napoli chief Aurelio de Laurentiis was reportedly willing to offload Manolo Gabbiadini, on Saturday the 25-year-old Italy striker grabbed Napoli’s equaliser in a 2-1 comeback win over Sampdoria.

Last week, Inter owners Suning proved that they meant business and outsmarted Juventus to sign Atalanta midfielder Roberto Gagliardini for €25 million.

One hopes that the 22-year-old is given enough playing time to prove himself at his new club.

Super Cup winners Milan, with the Chinese takeover expected to be finalised in the first week of March, are reported to be very keen on the signings of Fioren-tina’s Federico Bernardeschi and Keita Balde, of Lazio.

Two coaches who will have their operate provisionally derailed by the midseason transfer window are Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gas-perini and Genoa’s Ivan Juric.

Genoa have already lost valid midfielder Rincon and their best striker in Pavoletti. Apart from Gagliardini, Atalanta may also lose Franck Kessie as the Ivory Coast international is on the radar of a few top English clubs, including Chelsea.

Last month, the Blues were reported to have had a £21.5 million bid for Kessie turned down by the Italian club currently soaring high in the Serie A standings.

Meanwhile, Juventus are reported to have already agreed terms with Atalanta for Mattia Caldara.

The ‘Old Lady’ are expected to pay in the region of €15 million for the 22-year-old central defender, who will remain in Bergamo until the end of next season.

Riccardo Orsolini – Ascoli’s fast-paced winger – is also set to complete a move to Juventus.

Orsolini, 20, will keep playing for the Serie B outfit until next May and then ‘parked’ at Atalanta for one year.

The January transfer window comes at a time when the season is at its halfway stage, a period when coaches have a clear picture which departments and positions may need reinforcements.

In general, the less-quoted teams suffer because very often than not they lose their best assets.

Those teams finding the going tough and languishing in the bottom half of the standings tend to be more active this month, also giving an indication that they had not done their homework properly back in summer.

Many coaches reckon that ideally new signings in January should be kept to a bare minimum so that teams do not go through bumpy periods of transition.

Before, there were various midseason transfers that went on to become the best January signings ever in Italian football.

Alvaro Recoba was key behind Venezia’s great escape from relegation in 1999 and the transfer of Dejan Stankovic from Lazio to Inter in January 2004 was also a master stroke for the buyers not to mention Juve’s capture of defender Andrea Barzagli from Wolfsburg for just €300,000.

So, which club will achieve the best bargains and, perhaps more importantly, who will be the star signing in Serie A this winter?

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