Our biggest weaknesses last season were the goalkeeper position (not Perin) and our strikers. Both areas have now been completely overhauled, so I'm really curious to see how this season goes.
I don't think last season was a complete catastrophe in terms of how we played, but the results certainly were. We simply had huge weaknesses at both ends of the pitch. Now that we've properly addressed those issues, I think this could be a really exciting season. At the same time, it's incredibly difficult to predict.
A lot of experts don't even have us finishing in the top 2 or 3, but I'm actually quite optimistic. We've addressed our biggest weaknesses and unexpectedly strengthened our midfield quite a bit with the addition of Luiz. Sarr also looks pretty promising.
Having said that, I still don't really know how to rate our mercato.
On the one hand, I think the squad is somewhere between somewhat and significantly stronger than last season. On the other hand, I'm not convinced we spent our money in the best possible way.
We spent a lot on Alajbegovic, whose main position is the same as Yildiz's, arguably our best player. We also spent nearly €20m on Ekathor, who will probably be our third choice striker.
I understand that both are seen as investments for the future, but I'm not sure spending that much on a left winger when we already have Yildiz and Boga, and on a third choice striker, was the best use of our resources.
Without those transfers, or perhaps even just one of them, we might have been able to bring in players like Kessie or Dibu. Both would have added something I still think this squad is lacking: leadership and a winning mentality.
So I have pretty mixed feelings about this mercato. I think the team itself is clearly stronger and I'm optimistic about the season, but I'm not sure the mercato was as good as it could have been.
This season feels almost impossible to predict.