It’s buon giorno to some familiar faces and Arrivederci to others. Serie A has been just as busy as Loftus Road and White Hart Lane on transfer deadline day. While the Italian window shut at 18:00 GMT for foreign players coming in, it remained open until 23:00 GMT for players to move abroad.
Serie A Transfers, 2012: Who’s In, Who’s Out
What happened over the last few days of the transfer window in Serie A? Catch all the action in one place.
The on-off transfer of Bologna's Gaston Ramirez to Southampton finally happened to end weeks of speculation. The Uruguayan has moved to St Mary's for a reported £12million. The Rossoblu haven't wasted any time in bringing in replacements. Midfielder Michele Pazienza joins from Juventus, in addition to frontman Alberto Gilardino from Genoa for an undisclosed fee.
Gilardino's exit prompted new Genoa signing Juan Manuel Vargas to label him a "jerk to leave us at this time," no doubt to curry favour with his new fans after joining on loan from Fiorentina, in a deal which saw Nenad Tomovic go the other way. Right back Giandomenico Mesto also departs the Grifone in favour of Napoli, who have also convinced Brazilian centre back Bruno Uvini to swap Sao Paulo for the San Paolo. One player making a return to Genoa is Marco Borriello, looking to revitalise a career that stalled at Milan, Juventus and Roma.
On the subject of second chances, Luca Toni has returned "back home" to Fiorentina. The 35-year-old enjoyed a purple patch with the Viola first time around (2005-07) and has been without a club since leaving UAE outfit Al Nasr. Toni turned down an offer from Siena, who in turn have brought in Ze Eduardo on loan from Genoa and Alessandro Rosina on a free from Zenit St Petersburg.
Montenegran Stefan Savic has arrived in Florence from Manchester City as collateral for the deal taking Serbian Mateja Nastasic aka "the next Nemanja Vidic" to Eastlands.
Speaking of Serbs (although he chose Catalonia as his national side), Bojan Krkic brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘third party.' Signed by Roma last summer from Barcelona on a two-year deal, the Catalans inserted a buyback clause upon its expiry. After the Giallorossi agreed to cough up an additional €28million should they want to retain Bojan, he's currently out of favour with new AS Roma coach Zdenek Zeman. Enter AC Milan, who have now taken the starlet on loan for a year. Bojan, who's described his relationship with Roma as "weird," is joined at the Rossoneri by Manchester City midfielder Nigel De Jong.
Milan's city rivals Inter have been focused on reducing their wage bill. As a result, high earners Julio Cesar and Maicon have departed the San Siro in order to fill their pockets some more in England.
Over in Turin, Juventus have finally ended their search for a marquee striker to fill the boots of Sydney FC bound Alessandro Del Piero. However, much like being single in a nightclub ten minutes before closing, a rash act has seen the club pick up some scraps of dodgy bacon in the form of lanky Dane Nicklas Bendtner.
A cheeky Juve bid to hijack Fiorentina's disastrously planned welcoming party for Fulham bound Dimitar Berbatov ended up leaving both clubs bare faced. Despite being linked all summer with names such as van Persie, Jovetic and Llorente, the Bianconeri have ended up with the Arsenal outcast on a season-long loan deal. Pledging to curb his outspoken ways, Bendtner will probably cause the fans in Row Z more problems than opposing defenders.
Newly promoted Torino have ended up usurping their city rivals, going about their business quietly, bringing in Slovenian midfielder Valter Birsa on loan from Genoa and snapping up 18-year-old Montenegrin prospect Marko Basic and Cagliari left back Alessandro Agostino on permanent deals.
While most chairmen and agents have been trading their players like top trumps, a petty fight broke out between Lazio and Genoa. Desperate to farm out some of their excess baggage, Lazio were touting Uruguayan Emiliano Alfaro to all and sundry. Genoa expressed an interest, but after the Grifoni had pulled the plug on Andreas Granqvist's transfer to Rome earlier in the summer, Lazio patron Claudio Lotito vetoed the deal. Alfaro then flat-out refused to drop down to Serie B and join Cesena.
With every Lazio forward bar Miroslav Klose linked with a move, poor Sergio Floccari must feel like the last pick for a kickaround in the school yard. Permanent moves to Fiorentina and Inter came to nothing and Bologna passed up when Gilardino became available.
Meanwhile, across the boardroom at the Olimpico, Roma snapped up Uruguayan goalkeeper Marco Goichoechea on loan from Danubio. The giallorossi now have just as many keepers as they do strikers.
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By Kirsten Schlewitz
