The three most disappointing Serie A players in 2023-24

While some players grew and shined, others struggled to show their best in Serie A in the 2023-24 season, with three in particular proving disappointing.

A number of players emerged as key figures across the campaign, including Genoa’s Albert Gudmundsson, Bologna’s Riccardo Calafiori and Torino’s Raoul Bellanova, but others couldn’t manage to produce the goods when it mattered for their teams.

Three disappointing Serie A players

With the 2023-24 season now drawing to a close in Serie A, which three players disappointed fans this term?

1 – Paul Pogba (Juventus)

You’d be forgiven for forgetting that Pogba exists. Once a magical midfielder with skills, tricks and vision, he looked a shadow of his former self when he returned to Juventus back in July 2022. Whilst his first year back was wrought with injury after injury, his second went even worse.

Benched for the season opener against Udinese, he came on as a substitute for the following two matches against Bologna and Empoli, where he showed nothing of note. Then it all went wrong.

Pogba failed a doping test taken after that opening game with the Friulian side and was ultimately handed a four-year ban, a decision that may end his career even if the Frenchman has revealed that he will lodge an appeal. In the months since, he’s slipped out of relevance, and will eventually be a player lost to the annals of time, a disservice to the talent he once showed.

2 – Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli)

The captain of the 2022-23 Scudetto winners, Di Lorenzo was unfortunately a contributing factor behind Napoli’s dire post-league success, failing to impress on the pitch and not managing to be enough of a leader when it counted off of it.

As the team’s form continued to tumble and fall, the 30-year-old was unable to help turn things around and his performances on the right side of the pitch left a lot to be desired, disappointing fans in the Campania capital.

Heading into the summer, Di Lorenzo has asked Napoli to let him leave, and considering his poor work this season, this may come as a something of a relief for supporters.

3 – Ciro Immobile (Lazio)

Once one of the most prolific strikers in Serie A, Immobile has looked on the decline in the Italian capital this season, managing just seven goals across 30 league appearances, looking far off the player who won four Capocannoniere titles earlier in his career.

A frustrating figure, the 34-year-old is clearly approaching the twilight of his playing days and his lack of leadership in the Lazio squad saw him become a figure of ire amongst supporters in Rome, who grew tired with his lack of responsibility and humility despite his poor form.

With Valentin Castellanos keen to take on the starting spot in Igor Tudor’s frontline, it’s hard to see where Immobile goes next, needing to somehow prove himself once again after a difficult 2023-24 season.