Welcome to Italy: Top 5 Newcomers

As is the case seemingly every summer, Serie A saw some of its most established stars depart the peninsula following the conclusion of the 2014-15 season.

Juventus alone said teary, heartfelt goodbyes to Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, and Carlos Tevez. City rivals Torino saw Italian international Matteo Darmian leave for the lustre of Manchester United, while the likes of Stephan El Shaarawy and Mateo Kovacic departed the beautiful city of Milan.

In their respective places, however, come a host of new stars who will be introducing themselves to Italy's top flight for the first time.

Here are the top five newcomers to Serie A ahead of the 2015-16 season.

Honourable Mention: Alex Sandro (Juventus), Luiz Adriano (AC Milan)

5. Olivier Ntcham - Manchester City to Genoa

Two-year loan (Read more)

We're going off the board to open up our list, but in the imposing 19-year-old Frenchman, Genoa secured the services of a versatile midfielder who has the ability to become one of the league's most exciting youngsters over the next two seasons. Ntcham, a star of Manchester City's development program, has shone at every youth level with the French national team, and will be looking to vault himself into consideration for a spot on his country's senior team with an impressive couple of seasons at the Marassi.

"Here in Genoa I hope to improve greatly from a technical and tactical point of view," Ntcham said upon joining the club. City, who rewarded the talented teenager with a new five-year contract before sending him to Italy, will be hoping for just that as well.

4. Carlos Bacca - Sevilla to AC Milan

Reported €30-million transfer fee (Read more)

Jeremy Menez was something of a revelation playing as a withdrawn striker last season, but going into the summer, AC Milan was in need of a classic centre-forward with a proven record of finding the back of the net - if, for no other reason, than to put its other attacking players back into their natural positions. The Rossoneri found exactly that in the form of Bacca, who arrives at the San Siro having scored 45 goals between La Liga and the Europa League over the last two seasons.

Did the club overpay for a 28-year-old whose resale value will never increase? Absolutely. But after consecutive seasons mired in mid-table mediocrity, Milan finds itself in a position where it needs to overpay to attract quality talent - that shouldn't diminish the fact that Bacca is a quality signing.

3. Edin Dzeko - Manchester City to Roma

Season-long loan with option to buy (Read more)

Edin Dzeko didn't need much time to endear himself to the Roma faithful, netting a brace in his opening match with the club after making the move to the Italian capital from Manchester City.

Granted, it was a meaningless friendly, but after watching Francesco Totti and Adem Ljajic tie for the team lead with a mere eight Serie A goals in 2014-15, the thought alone of having a legitimate striker capable of doubling that total on his own is an exciting one for the club's supporters.

After a year spent stapled to the Citizens' bench, the 29-year-old Bosnian will be eager to build on his encouraging debut with his new club once the Serie A season kicks off this weekend.

2. Mario Mandzukic - Atletico Madrid to Juventus

€19-million transfer fee (Read more)

Replacing Carlos Tevez's production - 27 goals between Serie A and the Champions League last season - was never going to be an easy feat for the reigning Italian champions, but director Beppe Marotta moved quickly in the transfer market to secure the services of Mandzukic, who arrives on the back of spells with Atletico Madrid and, more impressively, Bayern Munich.

The Croatian arrives at the club's eponymous stadium with big shoes to fill, and while he won't carry that burden entirely on his own thanks to the signing of Paulo Dybala, the 29-year-old isn't lacking in confidence that he can be the main man to make up for the loss of Tevez.

"At Bayern there was a lot of competition among the club's forwards, but I'm Mandzukic and I believe in myself," he said.

1. Geoffrey Kondogbia - AS Monaco to Inter Milan

Reported €35-million transfer fee (Read more)

It looked for a long while like Geoffrey Kondogbia would end up at AC Milan, as the two clubs reportedly had a deal in place that would make the Frenchman the anchor of the Rossoneri's midfield - potentially for years to come.

And then bitter city rivals Inter Milan swopped in and hijacked the operation at the 11th hour.

It's a testament to the talent and potential of the 22-year-old powerhouse, who instantly becomes one of the best midfielders on display in the top flight of Italian football, and is the top newcomer in the league this season.