Not one, not two, but three coaches. The Neapolitan president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, had his work cut out for him last season, unable to confirm his status as title holder, finishing this sad adventure in an anecdotal 10th place. Since the incredible Scudetto won by Napoli more than a year ago and the grand departure of Luciano Spalletti, nothing has been going well at the foot of Vesuvius. The club’s management held numerous interviews in the summer of 2023 before finally setting its sights on Rudi Garcia, who was sacked after only five months. Replaced by Walter Mazzarri, the former Torino and Inter coach had not done any better since he was dismissed from his duties after three months. The end of the season had therefore been ensured by the coach of Slovakia, Francesco Calzona. An interim without spark before the arrival of Antonio Conte, a dream target for ADL and the tifosi for several months.
The summer was logically announced to be eventful in Naples with in particular the rumors around Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen. If the Georgian was quickly confirmed, definitively burying a possible departure, the Nigerian’s file is still dragging on ten days before the end of the transfer window with in particular Chelsea and PSG still hovering around the former LOSC striker. But without big sales, the Neapolitan management is struggling to give Antonio Conte all the reinforcements he wanted in the preamble to the summer: “You know very well that this is a very complicated situation. And I am sorry, because it is a blocked and complicated situation. I cannot say anything else.“, Antonio Conte initially coldly summed up before giving more details in the rest of his press conference.
A dead-end transfer window
In the departure direction, Naples only pocketed 7 million euros with the sale of Leo Østigård to Rennes: “We have to go on an adventure with certain specific parameters, that of cost, commitment and the ability to convince players to come to Naples without the European Cup. A considerable handicap. We have to try to find solutions to buffer, we cannot think of doing everything in one year, in a single transfer window. There are too many things to do. I realize that the exits we make do not bring in money, they are loans. There is a blocked situation that should or was to bring in significant income” said the Italian coach. Jesper Lindstrøm, Natan and Alessandro Zanoli left for Everton, Real Betis and Genoa respectively on loan, while Piotr Zieliński joined Inter on a free. And so Napoli have struggled to make progress on several issues to strengthen their squad.
As of August 18, Alessandro Buongiorno, Rafa Marin and Leonardo Spinazzola are the only recruits. However, some players could join the foot of Vesuvius like Romelu Lukaku, David Neres or even Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay: “I ask you to understand the situation. It doesn’t mean that the enthusiasm is gone, I am even more determined than before. I mean at the level of our mentality style. I try to transmit this thought to the children, to those who work with me, to those who are around. Then the club will work on the market, if it wants to implement the market. Otherwise, we have young people like Iaccarino and Saco and we will work with them” he then concluded. One thing is certain, the Partenopei enter the arena in a few minutes with this first day and a meeting against Hellas Verona.
