Juan Cuadrado became the latest talent to leave the Serie A after joining Chelsea in England

The January transfer window in Italy offered more of the same in terms of transfer wheelings and dealings as club owners again limited themselves to bolstering their respective squads largely with the arrivals of journeymen and bargain signings.

Juan Cuadrado became the latest talent to leave the Serie A in search of greener pastures as the gifted Colombian forward joined Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea from Europa League hopefuls Fiorentina in a cash-plus-player deal estimated to be in the region of £26.8m.

Cuadrado’s transfer fee was only beaten by Manchester City’s £28m capture of Wilfried Bony from Premier League rivals Swansea City.

It seems the trend has become the norm not the exception as year after year Italian football followers get accustomed to watching the best players in Serie A lured away from their fold by the more affluent clubs in England, Spain, France and Germany.

No wonder then that a Serie A shorn of high-quality players is all the more attracting fewer and fewer spectators to the stands.

Even more worrying is the fact that Italian clubs continue to rely on ‘leftovers’ to strengthen their prospects in the transfer season.

This represents the wrong departure point and if Italian clubs do not reverse this trend, the Serie A seriously risk becoming a modest league where only players in the sunset of their careers are attracted to the competition.

Juan Cuadrado became the latest talent to leave the Serie A after joining Chelsea in England

Indeed, gone are the days when the Serie A used to be a Mecca for the best players in the world.

The salaries now being offered are nothing compared to what others elsewhere, like Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris SG can offer.

The last three top scorers in Serie A – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Ciro Immobile – have all quit Italian football immediately after being crowned goal kings in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Cuadrado has now become the latest star to leave the Serie A but not the last one as Juve’s Paul Pogba is being linked with a mega move to European champions Real Madrid next summer.

A few months ago, Marco Verratti, a mainstay in defending France champions Paris SG’s midfield, did not mince his words when telling reporters that if he were to join Juventus at this stage of his career, it would be a step backwards.

This declaration is indeed shocking considering that the 22-year-old Verratti, who has never played for any Serie A outfit, had openly turned down the prospect of joining the best Italian club at the moment.

To a certain extent Juventus, who have been dictating matters in the Serie A since season 2011/12, are still attracting top-quality players. However, the problem seems to be holding on to their best talent.

Transfer targets

Apart from Pogba, Chile’s Arturo Vidal will also be a target for the top clubs in the next transfer window. So far, Juve have succeeded in keeping hold of their best players but there is absolutely no guarantee that they will continue doing so in future.

To halt the rot, there needs to be a complete reversal of fortunes for Italian clubs.

To start with, club owners must realise that signing seasoned players, past their prime playing years, is no longer a viable solution.

I may ask, what added value have Nemanja Vidic, Fernando Torres, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole given to the Serie A?

Are Premier League clubs so naive to have allowed their best players leave for free?

Inter’s new signing, Lukas Podolski, could be the latest included in an almost endless list of flops to have joined Serie A clubs after being afforded little, if any, playing time in the English Premier League.

Given the prevailing economic climate, all clubs in Serie A will have to invest more and more in their own youth academies to succeed.

Also, they have to improve their scouting departments to be in a better position to spot hot prospects when still in their teens, develop them and eventually give them enough playing time to flourish.

Udinese, and more recently Palermo, have made a living off buying largely unknown foreign players, mould them into rising stars and eventually sell them to the highest bidder.

Off the field, the Serie A should use the English Premier League as a role model to chart a way forward in terms of clubs owning their own stadiums and boosting revenue from merchandising and TV rights.

Juventus have improved their financial performance since moving to a new stadium in 2011.

Others need to follow in Juve’s footsteps before it is too late and the few remaining stars decide to quit the Serie A.