Serie A: Mass Uncertainty may mean Anybody's Game in 2025/26

It was supposed to happen. That’s because it usually happens. Antonio Conte’s blueprints are known by virtually everyone in the footballing world. He comes in, takes over at a team in less-than-ideal shape, transforms them into big hitters and contenders, and then bolts. Sometimes the former midfielder is less a football manager and more project manager, and once the KPIs are met, he bids farewell.

It looked to be the case last season, when Conte transformed a Napoli side that had delivered an atrocious defence of their title in 2023/24, and made them, not just contenders, but winners again, pipping Inter to the Scudetto, and becoming the first manager to win Italy's ultimate prize with three different teams. All that happened amidst the backdrop of a typical will-he-won’t-he speculation; the expectation was that Conte would walk when the season was over – not least because he wasn’t on the greatest terms with chairman Aurelio De Laurentis, and Juventus were calling again. But three months after their Scott-McTominay-inspired triumph, Conte remains the manager at the Stadio Armando Maradona.

Antonio Conte with the Scudetto, after success with Napoli

What changed? Perhaps the success itself. Conte did call Napoli’s title win as the “most unexpected, difficult and stimulating scudetto of my career”. Perhaps that stimulation is driving 56-year-old, although his record when he doesn’t bounce after success isn’t the best. At Chelsea and Tottenham, making the team formidable again was followed by a season of discomfort for everyone involved, before all parties inevitably parted ways.

Then again, it might be that the uncertainty surrounding the rest of the league is another reason Conte has decided to extend his time in Naples. That’s because despite joining last summer, the former Juventus and Inter manager is now in the top eight of longest-serving managers in Serie A. Among the Top Eight from last season’s final league table, the only other side to have not changed managers are Juventus (who had done it in March), and the Italian top-flight has seen 12 new names at different clubs… well, new-ish.

Inter were the side who narrowly missed out on the title at Napoli’s expense, and you could make the case that the Nerazzurri were the best side in Italy last season (maybe even Europe). Yet, they went into the final third of the season with the prospect of a treble, and ended it by winning nothing. But perhaps the biggest action regarding the club was the departure of manager Simone Inzaghi after the humbling loss to Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League final.

Former Inter defender Cristian Chivu is Simone Inzaghi's replacement at San Siro

In comes former defender Cristian Chivu, but little else has changed. As the back end of last season crept closer, Inter looked to be lacking legs, and were running on fumes, no surprise for an aged squad, especially in midfield. The good news is Inzaghi did so well in getting blood from stone that Inter are in a position where they can spend a bit, and club president Beppe Marotta has noted a need to refresh the side. “In our coming transfer window, we want to invest in young players with potential”, Marotta emphasised in April. The bad news; it’s the eve of the new season, and Inter’s signings are Luis Henrique and Peter Sucic, turning loan from Roma into a permanent move and bringing in Ange-Yoan Bonny from Parma. Negotiations with Atalanta over Ademola Lookman didn’t quite bare fruit, and Marotta’s refresh button feels like less of a click and more of a slight brush.

In many ways, Inter highlight that air of uncertainty pervading the league, both in the managerial dugouts and transfer window. If you want an indication that it’s not the 90’s anymore, in football terms, it’s the spending power of Serie A. Or lack thereof. Napoli may be champions, but their biggest transfer stories in 2025 are the sale of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January, and Victor Osimhen’s loan to Galatasaray been turned into a permanent transfer. They have made some big signings, though; with forward Lorenzo Lucca joining from Udinese, Noa Lang arrival from PSV, and, among others, Kevin de Bruyne joining on a free after leaving Manchester City. But the sense that Serie A is playing a necessitated waiting game is highlighted by Napoli’s sale of Giacomo Raspadori, in addition to the Osimhen departure, which ultimately made them afford those new names, and they need another following the injury to Romelu Lukaku.

Inter’s transfer headline is Not Getting Lookman, whose current club Atalanta have had a shakeup themselves. It’s not just that top scorer Mateo Retegui is among key departures – the likes of Lazar Samardzic and Odilon Koussounou have come in – it’s also that after nearly a decade, Gianpiero Gasperini is no longer La Dea’s manager. In comes Ivan Juric, whose last jobs where getting dismissed early at Roma and getting dismissed after relegation with Southampton, both last season.

Gianpiero Gasperini has moved on from Atalanta after 9 years as manager

Gasperini is now at Roma, who narrowly missed out on Champions League football last season, and will be hoping for a bit more steadiness in Rome, after going through three managers last term. Roma’s rivals in the capital, Lazio, have opted for a familiar face in re-hiring Maurizio Sarri, after parting ways with Marco Baroni despite a decent season in 2024/25 (Baroni is now at Torino).

All the chopping and changing perhaps places Juventus as the closest rivals to challenge Napoli this season. Their project with Thiago Motta failed last season (at least they didn’t quite have the tolerance to let it run longer), and they pivoted to former defender Igor Tudor. They managed to just about get a Champions League spot, and minimal arrivals (Jonathan David is the headline, alongside a few loans turned permanent buys) speak to a semblance of cohesion and stability, and they remain waiting for Douglas Luiz to leave before making any more signings.

Former Juve defender Igor Tudor was appointed manager in March

Names like Sarri and Tudor emphasise the new-ish nature of some of the managerial appointments in Serie A, among which is the return of Max Allegri to Milan – another side who changed managers last season. Allegri returns, nearly 12 years since he was dismissed, after the project with Paulo Fonseca didn’t work out, and neither did getting Sergio Conceicao to right the ship. The headline arrivals are veteran Luka Modric and fellow midfielder Samuele Ricci, and even though they spent over 40million Euros on Ricci and Pervis Estupinan, they could only afford that much/little following the sales of Tijjani Reijnders (Man City) and Theo Hernandez (Al-Hilal), and there are questions as to whether those arrivals are of the same quality (or longevity) as the ones who left. Rafael Leao stays, however, and you expect Milan to be on better footing having failed to get any European football this term.

But the uncertainty remains. A cloud still hangs over Italian football, who will do what, on the pitch and the market. There are questions on the country’s European representatives putting on a good show on the continent this season, perhaps questions laced with scepticism and negativity. The exciting kind of uncertainty surrounds domestic affairs, and the prospect of not quite knowing what bodes well for the watch value. You know it’s set for a rollercoaster when the words ‘Antonio Conte’ and ‘stability’ are in closer proximity than normal.