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Serie A Off-Season: Napoli Leave Everyone Else Behind


Teams are making big moves all across italian football. In this series I shall dive into every squads activity this summer. First up:


SSC Napoli


The Scudetto holders are the clear winners of the transfer window so far. Selling well, buying well, and dropping sick kits the Neopolitans lead Serie A in many a category. Let’s see how everything has gone down so far:


Conte stays!! 


There was quite a bit of speculation around wether Napoli’s Scudetto winning coach would still be there at the start of the season or if he may jump ship to another of Italy's big clubs. Keeping Conte is huge. There is no coach that Napoli could realistically acquire who would come close to Conte’s level. Winning Serie A this time around will be a whole different story however. Antonio hasn’t been great in the past at balancing European and domestic football but he will have something they lacked last season:


Real Depth


Lorenzo Lucca (24) joins from Udinese for €9 million. The 6ft 7in striker will provide competition for Lukaku up top and is certainly an upgrade on Simeone who scored just the one Serie A goal last season. 12 goals in 33 games isn’t too impressive but at 24 he should just be coming into his prime. Look I love Thauvin and all but apart from him Udinese had no creative talent. Udinese created just 55 big chances last season while Napoli created 79. And I won’t even mention the big free agent signing yet. So expect Lucia’s goals to jump from about 1 in 3 last year to 1 in 2 this year and if he gets decent game time I think he can hit 20-25 all comps. 


I didn’t think Napoli could win the Scudetto after selling Kvara and only replacing him with the utterly useless Noah Okafor but I was proven a fool. Giacomo Raspadori was just good enough to get Napoli to the finish line. Now he will likely play back up to new man Noa Lang (26). Unbelievable talented but has been stunted by having a bit of a shit attitude at times. If Conte can get him under control Napoli have themselves one of the best wingers in Serie A. 14 goals and 12 assists last season for Eredivisie champions PSV. With Lang and Lucca Napoli’s new front line depth is ready to compete across all competitions.


It’s not only up top the Neopalitans are strengthening, Luca Marianucci joins from Empoli for €9 million. The 20 year old performed admirably in his first season of top flight football. He was a rotation option in a pretty desperate Empoli side and will likely be the 4th/5th choice centre back for Napoli. But it’s a good price for a promising young defender.


Alex Meret could have a tough time holding onto his spot in goal if the rumours of Milenkovic Slavic signing are true. Not sure if the fee yet but United were linked for around €17 million. He was by far Torinos best player last year. He lead Serie A in goals prevented (10.6) and saves per 90 (3.6). A really great keeper would start for almost every team in the league. 


New Stars


Kevin fucking De Bruyne. The 34 year old played 40 times for City last season which is impressive but not as impressive as the fact that he was actually good. A fully health De Bruyne is exactly the type of player Napoli need. He’s not going to start every game, in fact, I would much prefer if he didn’t. Super Sub Kevin coming on for the last 20/30 minutes is a game winner. Napoli had 10 draws in the league last season more than 4 of the next 5 teams (lol Juve). De Bruyne is the type of player that can turn draws to wins with one perfect pass, or pinpoint cross, or flawless free kick. 


Sam Beukema isn’t confirmed yet but looks set to be announced imminently. €31 million for the 26 year old. He has been a huge part of Bologna success over the last couple seasons. Only 3 teams conceded more xG than Bologna last season and Beukema was a huge part of that. The Dutch defender also put in key performances during their Coppe Italia run.



The Outgoings


Finally getting some money for Osimhen is huge. As a neutral it’s sad to see him leave Napoli but I understand his position. €40 million this season, and another €35 mil by the end of 2026. That 40 covers Lang, Lucca, and Marianucci, and Osimhens wages probably cover De Bruyne and those 3 combined. No other major departures so far. Unless things change Napoli may be the deepest team in Serie A. 


Take My Money


Perhaps the best announcement for Napoli was one off the pitch. The new home and away kits are absolutely gorgeous. 


If I find myself in Manchester some time this year I expect to see thousands of these.


I better finish this up before they sign someone else. At the start of the summer I would have put Napoli 2nd maybe even 3rd in the Serie A race but now I believe firmly they are the favourites.

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