5 newcomers to watch in Serie A

The 2025/26 Serie A season gets underway on Saturday when Napoli begin their league title defence at promoted Sassuolo.

AFP Sport looks at some of the new faces to watch for ahead of the campaign as teams jostle to dethrone the champions:

Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli)

The headline transfer of the summer, Kevin De Bruyne joins Belgium teammate Romelu Lukaku and former Premier League rival Scott McTominay as the champions bolster their line-up with one of the best players of this century.

De Bruyne's signing on a two-year deal with an option for another season, so soon after wrapping up the Scudetto, was a comforting indication for fans that Napoli are improving the squad with Champions League football back on the agenda.

The 34-year-old has, however, suffered from a series of physical problems in recent seasons. Hamstring injuries caused him to miss significant chunks of the last two campaigns.

Luka Modric (AC Milan)

Ageing star Luka Modric was hailed with applause every time he touched the ball in Milan's 2-0 Italian Cup win over Bari on Sunday, his signing is a big deal for fans who watched the seven-time European champions slump to eighth last term.

Modric turns 40 next month and is unlikely to provide the dynamism he showed over 13 trophy-laden years at Real Madrid. The fact that his arrival has generated such excitement is testament to how far Serie A has fallen from its glory days of the 1990s and the early years of this century.

Yet, he has already shown that he can provide balance and composure to a midfield which has lost star Dutchman Tijjani Reijnders to Manchester City.

Jonathan David (Juventus)

Juve brought in Canada striker Jonathan David as a free agent in the hope of adding goals to a team which too often has been let down by misfiring forward Dusan Vlahovic.

The 25-year-old helped Lille to a French title in 2021. He joins a club that finished fourth in Serie A last season and never troubled Napoli, while slumping out of the Champions League at the play-off stage.

David scored 109 goals in 232 matches in five years at Lille. He shone on the European stage last season, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Real Madrid, and a double in the 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid.

Alvaro Morata (Como)

Alvaro Morata returns to Italy after Galatasaray chose not to take up the option to make permanent his loan move from Milan, and he has been packed off up the road to ambitious, and wealthy, lakeside minnows Como.

Backed by tobacco giant Djarum, Como have, as usual, been making moves in the transfer market as the club prepare to push further into the upper echelons of Italian football after finishing 10th last season -- their first in Serie A for 21 years.

Spain striker Morata, 32, will join a clutch of his countrymen at Como, including his former Chelsea and international teammate Cesc Fabregas who has made a name for himself as a bright young coach.

Jesus Rodriguez (Como)

Also among the new Spanish faces at Como is 19-year-old winger Jesus Rodriguez, who arrived from Real Betis for more than 20 million euros last month and has already made a good impression at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.

Rodriguez set up two goals for Morata's rival for the centre-forward spot -- Anastasios Douvikas -- in Como's 3-1 Italian Cup win over second-tier Sudtirol on Saturday.

He has competition for places from Assane Diao and fellow new arrival Jayden Addai, but he has shown the potential to be another hit in the mold of Nico Paz.

Other signings to look out for

Evan Ferguson is hoping to revive his career on loan at Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma after Ireland forward found himself out of favour at Brighton and Hove Albion, while Ciro Immobile and Federico Bernardeschi return home with Italian Cup holders Bologna.

Another veteran, Edin Dzeko, will team up with Italy striker Moise Kean at Fiorentina, and Ange-Yoan Bonny has added depth and dynamism to Inter Milan's attack after arriving from Parma.