It’s fair to say it’s been a fairly dramatic summer for Sampdoria.

The Blucerchiati put their fans through the ringer over the course of several weeks at the end of last season. 

Relegated to the third tier for the first time in the club’s storied history after a torrid campaign, the news of Samp’s demise garnered worldwide coverage. The club of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini, of Cerezo and David Platt, was now due to languish in the doldrums of Serie C.

Then, as most know by now, Samp were saved by Brescia’s financial meltdown and moved into a relegation play-out showdown with Salernitana.

In the end, they emerged with a 5-0 aggregate score line after the second leg in Salerno was postponed due to crowd disturbance from the locals, dismayed at their side being two goals down and themselves heading towards the abyss. 

After teetering on the edge of a precipice for so long, Samp managed to pull through and avoid the indignity of having to face the likes of Renate, Trento and Pergolettese.

But with the new season looming closer on the horizon, what can we expect after the emotions of this summer? What is a realistic target for Serie B’s biggest side in 2025-26?

Massimo Donati, who played for the club briefly in the mid-2000s on loan from AC Milan, has been drafted in to steer the club. Donati’s managerial experience isn’t exactly luminary: his track record amounts to spells at Sambenedettese in Serie C, two seasons with Venetian side Legnago Salus and a six-month stint with Greek outfit Athens Kallithea. Hardly a CV that screams promotion ambition.

Yet it’s clear Samp just need stability in the short-term. A year ago they were being tipped to perhaps make a push for promotion. On paper, they had one of the best teams in the division, yet of course as we know, the game isn’t played so.

In fact in the end, the opposite nearly happened: promotion dreams turned into relegation nightmares. Therefore the name of the game has to be about getting back to basics, and making sure survival doesn’t go to the wire.

So on that front, Donati should be more than enough to meet requirements.

In the background, changes are afoot. Jesper Fredberg has been drafted in as the club’s new sporting director, taking over from Andrea Mancini — son of Roberto — in July.

There’s been whispers the club could change ownership in the coming months. Matteo Manfredi and Joseph Tey, who bought the club only two years, appear to want out, no doubt scarred by the experience of last season,

Samp somewhat gambled on gaining automatic promotion last season, spending around €7m on players. This may not be a large figure in football terms, but for the Italian second tier it’s a significant chunk of change. 

With club debt standing somewhere around the €70m figure, finding buyers won’t be easy.

Tey, a Singaporean businessman who owns majority shares in Samp and has a passion for the club, is also reportedly open to relinquishing control as the costs of keeping Samp afloat, never mind competitive, continue to rise.

Yet for now they still own the club and have continued to put money in. Liam Henderson has been signed from Empoli, with the Scot now on his sixth Italian side. 

Henderson will bring much needed experience in the middle of the pitch, as will Alessandro Bellemo, who was signed from Como. Also arriving from the lake is tall Danish midfielder Oliver Abildgaard, who stands at a 6ft 4in and spent last season on loan at Pisa, playing his part in the Nerazzurri’s promotion charge.

Their first competitive game under Donati ended in a slender Coppa Italia defeat to Spezia in a Ligurian derby on penalties. 

A debut goal from Liam Henderson was cancelled out two minutes later by new Spezia signing Gabriele Artistico. 

Henderson, along with Pedro Pedrola, missed penalties in the shootout as the home side advanced at the Alberto Picco. 

Yet Spezia coach Luca D’Angelo was full of praise for his opposite number post-game, and Samp looked a markedly different side to the meek outfit that surrendered without pity to the hosts in April.

“Donati [has] brought a different style of play, more vertical, moving forward and pressing,” remarked Fabio Depaoli post-game.

“Last year shook us up, and those who remain want to start over and have a proper season.”

Modena, led by former coach Andrea Sottil, await Samp in a tasty opening weekend clash at the Marassi. The away side have real aspirations of fighting for a playoff spot this season despite losing the influential Antonio Palumbo to Palermo, and they’ll represent a tough test for Donati.

Yet Samp fans have rallied to the Blucerchiati cause, with as many as 15,000 season tickets already sold by early August. A healthy crowd should therefore be expected for the curtain raiser.

While a year ago there were dreams of a return to Serie A, a place most fans expect Sampdoria to be, there aren’t those same expectations now.

The bottom line ahead of 2025-26 is stability, a back to basics approach. Samp are more than good enough to survive relegation without the need of a relegation play-out. 

After the horror of last season, expectations are quelled, an acknowledgement that Donati, in his first serious job in the Italian game, will need time. 

Considering what they’ve just been through, most Samp fans would take a firm mid-table finish in a heartbeat.