Napoli Loanees
With the season winding down, questions about the clubs future have once again surfaced? Is Conte leaving? What does ADL have planned for the centenary? How can the Lorenzo Lucca money be recouped? And of course, what is the squad going to look like come August. Below are my opinions on what should happen to players Napoli has on loan, and players Napoli has loaned out.
On Loan At Napoli:
Lorenzo Lucca, VMS, Rasmus Hojlund:
All three of these players (for better or worse) are now in a blue shirt permanently. Lorenzo Lucca’s signing was (unfortunately) made official during the winter window due to an obligation to buy loan, and the loans of VMS and Hojlund became official after Napoli’s victory in Pisa, due to the obligation to buy should the club reached the Champions League.
Hojlund, despite his high price, was a solid deal as he’s a solid player with a lot of room to grow. The price is unfortunate, but considering how much United paid for him, it’s only natural they would demand €50M. While more goals would’ve been appreciated, the lack of a preseason, the overworking during the injury crisis, the fact strikers in general have struggled this season in Serie A, and Politanos inability to get a cross in are all factors that need to be considered as well.
VMS for €21M is a solid deal, but it has it’s drawbacks. He’s a very different type of keeper than Meret, obviously one more suited to Conte’s preferred style, and at 29 years old he can definitely stick around for the long haul. However, it’s obvious that he still needs to grow as a player as at 29, this was his first season under European lights, pressure he very clearly wasn’t suited for. If the clubs goal is to continue competing in Serie A, push further in Europe, and maybe even compete for the Coppa Italia again, Vanja, who is an otherwise great keeper, will need to adapt to the pressure of a UCL group stage game and not concede six goals to Dutch side before he can adapt to the pressure of a Coppa Italia Final.
In addition to Napoli’s two successes, there is also Lorenzo Lucca. Not much can be said about him that hasn’t already been said, memed, or yelled red faced, but he is an all-around terrible player. Maybe it’s just poor mentality since leaving Udine but regardless, his performances in a blue jersey, and even the few games Nottingham have let him play show he is barely capable of playing for even a team threatened by relegation. As for what should be done, it’s obvious no one is going to buy him for anywhere near where he is purchased so best case scenario, in my opinion, is to send him to Bari (who may be in Serie C next season) and hope he can rebuild himself and his transfer value there and have this conversation again next summer.
Eljif Elmas:
Keep, easily. He was sold to Leipzig for €24M and the combined fee to purchase him back would be €14-16M, allowing Napoli to still profit off a player who has helped win them three trophies. He is not the greatest player, especially this season, but his dedication to the team is unmatched by even actual Neapolitan Mazzocchi. Without his efforts to keep the left side of the pitch in check during the worst of the injury crisis, I seriously believe Napoli wouldn’t have reached the Champions League. Even Conte joked the club should build a statue of him for his efforts. With veteran midfielders Anguissa and Lobotka potentially departing this summer as the club attempts to extract value from them while they’re still viable, I think Elmas has a place on the 26-27 squad as a sub or a starter in lower stakes games and should be rewarded for his efforts in the blue shirt.
Giovane and Alisson Santos:
Santos keep, of course. Our most successful winter signing, potentially ever, with the way he plays you’d think he was in his mid-twenties and had been at the club for years. His raw talent, his chemistry with the squad, his drive to improve, his European experience, and his price only being €20M are all motivating factors for why I (and I’m sure everyone reading this) believe Santos has a valuable place in the 26-27 squad.
Giovane is another story. While not a loan player, his story is still relevant, as he was bought for the same €20M from a struggling Verona, he had a great last month with his former club but has been stagnant since joining Napoli. 12 appearances, some starts, and still zero goals. To be fair, he is often played out of position, as Hojlund is the preferred striker but even when he is played as a proper striker, he struggles. I was lucky enough to watch Napoli v. Milan live back in April, a match Giovane started in, and my seat was right by Milan’s net for the first half, meaning I saw a lot of Giovane. It was obvious to me that he works incredibly hard and tactically solid but struggles to handle pressure well as I saw Milan’s CBs constantly intimidate him out of what could’ve been shots on target. I think next season he should be sent on loan to a higher table Serie A team, preferably one in Europe (I could see Roma taking him honestly), as he builds up his confidence. From soon to be relegated Verona to 2^(nd) place Napoli is a huge leap for a 22-year-old and he is seemingly another addition to the club’s talented but inexperienced forward situation. I believe he should be loaned out in exchange for a more mature striker in their late twenties who could act as a leader to Hojlund and the other young forwards. Giovane has potential, but after the chances he was given I don’t know if he’s ready.
Out On Loan:
Rafa Marin:
Bought for €12M in 2024, he was solid enough during the championship season but was loaned back out to Spain for more minutes. At Villareal, he has become an integral part of the squad’s defense, regularly playing a full ninety in La Liga as well as featuring heavily in Villareal’s Champions League group stage matches. This is all as the club successfully secured a Champions League spot and is on track for a third-place finish, which would be the clubs highest finish since 2008 (in which they finished second).
To put it bluntly, Napoli has a real asset on their hands. Young, skilled, European experience, and existing chemistry with a sizeable percentage of the squad, means allowing him to slip through for only €16M would be a dire mistake. Of all the players Napoli currently has out on loan Rafa Marin is probably Napoli’s greatest asset all things considered, and I sincerely hope to see him in a blue shirt come August.
Noa Lang:
A player who has been an intense topic of debate in the past week as he has returned to Napoli following the conclusion of his loan to Gala in Turkey. At the same time, it has been all but confirmed that Antonio Conte, who he did not have a good relationship with, will be leaving his post at the conclusion of the Udinese game on Sunday.
Lang was purchased for €25M over the summer, a relatively low price for a winger with that much experience, and Gala holds a €30M buy option that they seemingly have no plan to activate. Personally, I believe he is a quality leftwinger that is incredibly creative and flashy on the ball. I still talk about that incredible assist he made that forced a draw with Inter at the San Siro. I think his relationship with David Neres (a right-winger who is often forced to play on the left) could be useful on the pitch. If Napoli decides to make a serious push in all competitions next year having two sets of talented wingers (Lang/ Neres and Santos/ Vergara) could serve as a benefit in regard to rotation.
I’m on the fence on if he should stay. On one hand, I feel he is very talented but was not given a fair chance, but also recognize he has his own problems. However, his chemistry with others on the team, a new manager is (most likely) coming in, and the fact that after a season of little minutes no club will pay €25M for him, I think he should be kept. If it doesn’t work out, force an upper to mid table premier league club into a €20M buy clause next winter and have that be the end of it.
Luca Marianucci:
Featuring sparingly in the first half of the season, the 21-year-old was loaned out to Torino in the winter. I watched a decent amount of Torino’s matches this season (to watch Cholito of course) and in my assessment, he had a rough few months but has really picked up since April. In particular, he was something of a super sub against Inter forcing a 2-2 draw at the Olimpico di Torino. The optimist in me wants to give him a chance on the Napoli bench next year, but the Italian in me is worried he is too inexperienced. For the €10M fee paid over the summer, quite exorbitant all things considered, he certainly isn’t going anywhere any time soon, and while he is clearly Serie A ready, a Champions League bound team might be too much for him, but also Torino may be too little of a challenge. Upper mid table teams like Atalanta or Bologna may be a solid place for him, the latter being a possibility as Bologna tends to get picked apart every summer so come August they may need a new center back. Como, who is desperately in need of more Italian talent, may also take him, although I worry he might be used to fill a quota and not be given any playing time.
Regardless, I believe Marianucci is a player with a lot of raw power that needs to refine the mental aspect of his game a bit. I feel if his development continues the way it has, it’s likely he will be playing in a blue shirt in the 2027-2028 season.
Giuseppe Ambrosino, Luis Hasa, Emanuele Rao:
A trio of youngsters who have all been loaned out to Serie B, I believe all are full of potential and are, at the very least, ready to play in the Serie A.
Giuseppe Ambrosino, the eldest and most developed, has played in the Serie A already, and even in the Champions League, with Napoli in the first half of this season. He was able to move the ball around well but lacked a lot of needed creativity. During his loan to Modena, Ambrosino picked up a fair number of minutes, netted two goals, and started against Modena’s play-off game against Juve Stabia (which they lost 1-0). Is Ambrosino ready for Napoli? I don’t think so and I would love to see him get as many minutes possible instead of being stuck as an understudy, so I sincerely hope he is loaned out to a Serie A team during the 26-27 season and we’ll see next summer.
Luis Hasa, who has been on loan at the less successful Carrarese, has had an incredible loan spell. The former Italian, current Albanian midfielder started in 75% of matches this season, scored five goals, and netted four assists. Certainly solid. Of course, there are fears since he isn’t Serie A tested, but then again neither was Vergara who similarly had a strong season in Serie B last year before his strong introduction into Serie A and Champions League football. As mentioned previously, there are rumors that they club may sell both Anguissa and Lobotka this summer due to their age and I believe if this occurs, Napoli should promote Hasa to a regular first team player. However, should one or both of these players stay, I think it’s in Hasa’s best interest to be loaned out again to ensure he gets a fair number of minutes. Of course, after such a season I believe he is ready for the Serie A and hope he is, at the very least, loaned out to a top club like those mentioned prior or perhaps even Roma.
Finally, Emanuele Rao. At 19 years old, he was loaned out to Napoli sister club and talent dumping ground SSC Bari who has spent the past few years yo-yoing in Serie B from being promotion contenders to relegation contenders. This season they are the latter and are set to play the second leg of relegation playoffs against Suditrol on Friday after finishing 0-0 last Friday. In spite of Bari’s failures however, Rao has been somewhat of a light. His season began with a slow start but picked up in January as the club moved him from his traditional left wing role and into either an attacking midfielder or second striker. In these roles he has found much more success netting six goals and three assists since the end of January, with many being game winners. In particular in Bari’s final game of the season, he assisted Gabriele Moncini which led to an equalizing goal in a game Bari would eventually win 3-2, keeping them out of the automatic relegation spots. While we won’t know for another two days where Bari will be playing next season, I believe it is in Rao’s best interest if he remains there (should they stay up) to ensure stable development or maybe loaned out to a lower table Serie A club. He has immense potential and I hope his abilities as an attack midfielder or second striker can be further tested next year, wherever that ends up being.
Gio Simeone and Jens Cajuste:
Conditions already met for Gio (Torino stayed up) and while Cajuste’s Ipswich got promoted, he did not play enough games for the obligation to be triggered, although considering his performances, he may be purchased anyway. To Gio, thank you for everything, looking forward to when Napoli plays Torino. Best of luck always. To Jens, good luck. I guess.
Jesper Lindstrom, Cyril Ngonge, the Zerbinator, Walid Cheddira, and Michael Folorunso:
Awful and irredeemable. Pray they are bought by whoever they are loaned too so the club can finally have them off the books. For the former four it is incredibly likely they will be returned in two weeks after mediocre spells, but it’s possible Folo may stay at Cagliari after making a bit of a name for himself there.
Coli Saco, Antonio Cioffi, Lorenzo Sgarbi:
Who? Exactly. Borderline human trafficking victims at this point with how much they’ve been loaned out. Failed youth projects that, best case scenario, play Serie C football until they ride off into the sunset, hopefully surrounded by fans of the local team.
Curious what you all think.