Football Season Guide

Napoli

In


Arkadiusz Milik (att)(Ajax); Luigi Sepe (gk)(Fiorentina, end of loan); Jonathan De Guzman (mid)(Carpi, end of loan); Lorenzo Tonelli (def)(Empoli); Emanuele Giaccherini (mid)(Sunderland); Piotr Zielinski (mid)(Udinese); Josip Radosevic (mid)(SD Eibar, end of loan)

Out


Nathaniel Chalobah (mid)(Chelsea, end of loan); Gabriel Vasconcellos (gk)(Milan, end of loan); Vasco Regini (def)(Sampdoria, end of loan); Juan Zuniga (def)(Watford); Gonzalo Higuain (k)(att)(Juventus); Eddy Gnahoré (mid)(Crotone, on loan)

The past season was an absolutely stunning one for Napoli as they unexpectedly fought for the Scudetto until the very end, displaying an impressive football and a magnificent striker, Higuain. The lack of depth in the squad certainly made it impossible for them to eventually triumph but it was pretty clear what should have been done over the summer in order to become even more competitive. Nobody could have expected them to lose the top scorer of the Serie A for an incredible cash offer by Juventus, though. Higuain’s departure to the Old Lady is certainly a big blow for Napoli’s ambitions especially since it leaves a huge hole in their attack. The Argentinean proved fundamental in the past campaign and the team heavily depended on him for their goals as he had no real valid alternative on the bench. Now, Napoli find themselves without an alternative and the main striker as well. In order to fill the hole left by Higuain, the management hired the promising Polish striker Milik from Ajax. However, with just 10 more days left before the beginning of the campaign, they are desperately trying to sign a more experienced forward, Icardi from Inter above all. Having lost no other major player during the summer, the management succeeded providing coach Sarri at least one valid alternative for each department. Tonelli should provide some cover at centre-back while Zielinski proved to be a talented midfielder. And Giaccherini, fresh from some bright performances with the Italian national team, is capable of wonders on the wings. There are some other problems to be solved, though. Reina will be missing from goals for some time, due to injury, and he has not been properly replaced yet. Moreover, Koulibaly is willing to leave and, if he does, Sarri would once again be left with no alternatives in defence.

Target


Napoli are willing to fight for the Scudetto once again but, if they do not manage to find a valid substitute for Higuain, they might have to content themselves with another qualification to the Champions League. A bright European campaign is also a goal for the club.