A black year, after the big party. Thirty-three years of waiting to relive a season with the scudetto on the chest, yet everything happened in Naples after Luciano Spalletti’s masterpiece. Three coaches changed, performance sensationally below expectations, with a Champions League qualification that seems like a mirage and a gap from the top of twenty-one points. But it is the 29 points difference compared to the 29th matchday a year ago that makes the troubled Italian season even more bitter: a fact that has already led to profound reflections on the part of president Aurelio De Laurentiis, who next summer is ready for a new revolution. Not only of the squad, but probably also at management level and on the bench.
the new 9
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Certainly, two of the great protagonists of the Scudetto will be leaving, who have also influenced the approach of the club and the team to this new season. The renewals of Victor Osimhen and Piotr Zielinski attracted attention during the training camps in Dimaro and Castel di Sangro, as well as inevitably influencing market strategies. Osimhen eventually renewed, but at Christmas: contract worth 10 million per season, with a release clause set at around 130 million. Translated: an insurance policy for Napoli, who will have a little treasure to reinvest from next summer, once they say goodbye to Osimhen, who is very popular with PSG, Arsenal and especially Chelsea. To replace Victor, De Laurentiis is ready to make a heavy investment: the dream would be Zirkzee, but without the Champions League it seems unlikely to be able to get his hands on Bologna’s number 9. So Napoli turned their attention to Santiago Gimenez, Feyenoord’s center forward: 21 goals in 25 league matches for the Mexican international born in Buenos Aires, a city that seems to have a unique bond with Naples. Gimenez has grown a lot in Europe, standing out first in the Conference League, then in the Champions League and Europa League. In short, a targeted investment to immediately put Napoli back at the center of the Serie A village. Gimenez costs around fifty million, more or less what Lille is asking for Jonathan David, another possible profile for the post-Osimhen period: David was on pole the last summer to replace Victor, who knows if the deal will be able to warm up twelve months late.
east wind
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But with Osimhen’s money, Napoli will have to aim for an important player for each department, not just to find the new center forward. The other certainty is the farewell of Zielinski, more than Inter’s betrothed: he will move to Milan in the summer, on a free transfer. He then needs to find quality in the midfield, someone with talent, ideas, insertions and goals. One like Georgiy Sudakov, so to speak, a Ukrainian gem from Shakhtar. De Laurentiis tried to sign him already in January, at least according to the statements of the Ukrainian club, which admitted having rejected an offer of 40 million. Sudakov is also in the sights of the Premier League and probably won’t move for less than 50 million. This is also why Napoli keeps Bologna’s Ferguson track alive, one of the best midfielders in this championship. And in defence, left orphaned by Kim in the summer, the focus is on the profiles of Calafiori (Bologna) and Hancko (Feyenoord).
technician and ds
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The objectives are there, but first there are other urgent matters: the choice of the coach and possibly the new sporting director to whom to entrust the next project. Antonio Conte remains the dream of De Laurentiis, who in the meantime always thinks of Italiano, Palladino, Farioli and evaluates the Pecchia hypothesis. Then, if Calzona reaches the Champions League, he could also change the scenarios. In the role of sporting director, however, it will be necessary to understand Meluso’s future, but also realize that whoever he will be, he will have to have freedom of maneuver and maximum confidence. Only in this way can the Naples project get back on track.
