Football Season Guide

Last season was a rather successful one for Sampdoria as they were never really involved in the fight against relegation and they even finished in the top 10, often causing bigger clubs problems. Claudio Ranieri was the architect of this unexpected result, but he was not offered a new contract by the management. Does this demonstrate a lack of ambition? Roberto D'Aversa was asked to take the reins. He had some bright seasons at Parma between 2016 and 2020, but his second stint at the club last season turned out to be a real embarrassment. He is expected to forsake his favourite 4-3-3 formation and to carry on adopting the 4-4-2 system of play that paid off so well under Ranieri. The summer has not been particularly active for Sampdoria. Keita had to return to his parent club, Monaco. Attacking midfielder Ramirez, who failed to repeat the wonders displayed while at Bologna, was also let go, without any regrets. In terms of new signings, Sampdoria were even more static. In fact, they limited themselves to turning a couple of loans into permanent deals. This was the case for Candreva and Torregrossa. A group of players returned from loan spells including centre-backs Murillo and Chabot. Sampdoria are still hunting for a striker and Cutrone, from Wolverhampton Wanderers, seems close to sealing a deal with the club. He is in need of redemption after some unsatisfying campaigns and Sampdoria could be the right place for him.