Lecce

Relegated from the Serie A at the end of the 2020/2021 campaign, Lecce returned to the top flight of the Italian football at the first time of asking. Having set their foot in the top 3 early on in November, they alternated runs of wins and draws but eventually reached the top two weeks before the end of the season, having lost just 5 games. Not particularly bright offensively, they held the 3rd-best attack, Lecce displayed the best defence of the league, with 31 goals conceded and 15 clean sheets. Marco Baroni, the architect of promotion, was confirmed at the helm for the new season. His Serie A experience as a coach is far from promising, though: he was sacked twice, at Siena and Benevento, and was relegated once, with Frosinone. Lecce underwent a major squad overhaul over the summer, losing protagonists of the Serie B triumph in all areas. In goal, Gabriel and Plizzari left and 27-year-old Falcone, only 12 games played in Serie A, arrived from Sampdoria to wear the number 1 shirt with Brancolini as a back-up. The defence was depleted by the departures of centre-backs Lucioni and Simic and left-back Barreca. Newcomers Baschirotto and Frabotta should be given starts at full-backs, although the former is a unknown quantity at this level and the latter is coming off an array of injuries. Tuia and Dermaku, 2 players with limited Serie A experience, would now be the regular centre-backs and, no surprise, Lecce are on the hunt for better. The midfield saw Gargiulo and Majer departing: Bistrovic and Askildsen arrived from CSKA and Sampdoria respectively as replacements. In attack, with Coda gone (20 goals and 10 assists last season), they hired 28-year-old Ceesay as free agent: he had one prolific campaign in his career, scoring 18 goals last season at FC Zurich. Young Colombo, coming from Milan should represent his alternative, while Di Francesco should be acting as left winger, after a positive season at Empoli.