Most Interesting Serie A Transfers of January 2013

The January transfer window closed last Thursday night with the usual fanfare. In Italy most teams have been pretty strapped for cash for a while, leaving them playing second fiddle to the English and Spanish top divisions, and now the new money upstarts of Eastern Europe. However, Italian teams still found enough money to make some intriguing moves in the transfer window, and here are some of the most interesting.

Mario Ballotelli to AC Milan

With Roberto Mancini finally giving up on trying to rein in the player he first discovered at Internazionale, Ballotelli has returned to Italy, to what is probably the club where he will have the best chance of finally achieving his potential. Ballotelli has always been a Milan fan, even when he was at Inter, and this should give him added motivation to want to do well. A potential front line of Ballotelli, El-Sharaawy, and the developing Mbaye Niang could be devastating, and I wouldn't bet against Ballotelli coming back to haunt Manchester City in the Champions League in the coming seasons.

Guiseppe Rossi to Fiorentina

Perhaps a gamble of a signing, Rossi has been out injured since October 2011, and isn't expected to be fit to play until the end of this season, or maybe even the beginning of next. In spite of this, if Fiorentina can get him fit again, they will have a very exciting player on their hands. In his last full season at Villareal in 2010-11, Rossi scored 32 goals in 56 appearances. He was also becoming first choice for Italy, whose manager, Cesare Prandelli had seen Rossi and Ballotelli as his front pairing. Fiorentina's gamble could pay off hugely if they can get him back to that kind of form, especially if they keep Stevan Jovetic, and manage to get them playing well together.

Mateo Kovacic to Internazionale

After finally ending the Wesley Sneijder saga with his transfer to Galatasaray, Inter have moved to replace him with a player who has been described as the new Luka Modric. Only 18 years old, so maybe one more for the future, Kovacic became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Croatian top division at the age of 16 years and 198 days, was the youngest player ever to wear the Dinamo Zagreb captain's armband, and in scoring against Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League group stage, became the second youngest ever scorer in the competition. It will be very interesting to see how he develops. 

Nicholas Anelka to Juventus

Juve have been searching for a striker for long time now. Despite their continuing dominance in the league, the one thing the team could be said to be missing is a 20+ goal a season striker. They were expected to make a big move in the summer but ended up having to settle for loaning Nicklas Bendtner, who now mostly warms their bench. With Fernando Llorente on his way on a free transfer in the summer, signing Anelka can possibly be seen as another attempt at a short term fix, although he will be out to prove he can still cut it at the top level.