Playing for 90
Fansided

5 Serie A prospects ready for a breakout 2018-19 season

By John Vaccaro

DUISBURG, GERMANY - JULY 28: Marc Lafont Alban of Florenz saves a penalty during the first semi final match between MSV Duisburg and AC Florenz at Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena on July 28, 2018 in Duisburg, Germany. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images)
DUISBURG, GERMANY - JULY 28: Marc Lafont Alban of Florenz saves a penalty during the first semi final match between MSV Duisburg and AC Florenz at Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena on July 28, 2018 in Duisburg, Germany. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
ATLANTA, GA – AUGUST 01: Juventus player Andrea Favilli celebrates 0-1 goal during 2018 MLS All-Star Game: Juventus v MLS All-Stars at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniele Badolato – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – AUGUST 01: Juventus player Andrea Favilli celebrates 0-1 goal during 2018 MLS All-Star Game: Juventus v MLS All-Stars at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniele Badolato – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images) /

4. Andrea Favilli- Genoa (Loan from Juventus)

After being purchased by Juventus from Ascoli this summer, Andrea Favilli, will be heading out on a loan to Genoa with an option for Genoa to make the move permanent at the end of the summer. This will be his first chance to see some real Serie A action after spending the last 2 seasons in Serie B. His only appearance in Serie A to this point in his career was as a 93rd minute sub for Alvaro Morata. Until this summer, Favilli hadn’t really had the opportunity to show he could compete at this level, but that changed on Juve’s tour of the US.

With most of Juve’s attack on vacation following the World Cup, Favilli finally got a chance to shine. He certainly didn’t waste it. He scored 2 goals in 3 appearances in the International Champions Cup and 1 in the MLS All-Star Game. He didn’t miss a beat coming off of a knee injury that brought an abrupt end to a season where he had scored 5 goals and assisted 1 through 11 games. His performances in the ICC and MLS All-Star Game impressed Juventus enough to negotiate a buyback clause for the striker.

At Genoa he will have a clear path to consistent playing time. The strikers Genoa has returning from last season were just a bit short of impressive last year. Goran Pandev scored 5 goals on 44 shots in 32 appearances. Gianluca Lapadula was just as inefficient with one more goal on 9 more shots in his 28 appearances. Andrey Galabinov was even less effective with 3 goals on 34 shots in 21 appearances.

This gives Favilli a very good chance to take over the starting striker role for a team will need some help in attack to stay competitive. He showed over the summer just what he’s capable of when giving starting opportunities. As Genoa’s best starting option he should be able to score somewhere between 12-14 goals in his first season as a #1 option and convince Juve they made a good choice including a buyback clause in his move to Genoa.

Home/Serie A