r/sscnapoli

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.

We we! I want to have fun - yes, this is how I have fun - by ranking a series of at least theoretically possible managers (to be clear: I won't bother talking about Klopp, Xabi Alonso or Guardiola, that would be a waste of time for me) into tiers. And that's basically it.

Fair warning: this is a long read, and a TL;DR isn't really possible. If you don't feel like it, skip it, reddit is full of other posts and mine are just tactical rambling.

TIER S: WET DREAMS

This is about people who, yes, theoretically might still be possible, but are absolutely unlikely, either because they're probably already headed elsewhere, or because they're not the kind of profile Napoli typically targets.

ENZO MARESCA

A genuinely talented manager in my view, one of those Guardiola "disciples" leading the renewal of the positional play codified by the Catalan. If we consider Kompany, Arteta and Maresca the main figures among the new Guardiolists, the former Chelsea man sits in the middle between Kompany's revolutionary and bold approach and Arteta's "haram-ball": he's still attached to the 3-2-5/3-2-2-3, which at Chelsea he interpreted by giving complete freedom of movement to an attacking midfielder (Palmer, usually), with the rest of the midfield's "quadrilateral" adapting around him. He wants a very vertical buildup, with the two wide players always at maximum width and supporting movements to create numerical superiority on one side. His Chelsea also had the ability to vary pressing height, with moments of intense man-to-man pressure and moments of mid or low block. Chelsea's defence was far from impenetrable, but an attacking game combined with very vertical play leaves the team structurally unbalanced, and the style seemed worth the trade-off for the Blues, given the collapse they suffered under the new manager (even if there the new coach's personal responsibility is clearly a factor).

Fit with the squad: Conte set his players up in a 3-2-5 exactly as Maresca does, and just like Chelsea, Napoli had major problems managing transitions when the team stretched. Actually worse than Chelsea, given the characteristics of the Neapolitan defensive line. It's likely that in adapting to the squad, some of the sparkle that defined Chelsea would be sacrificed in favour of compactness. Gilmour could get a big boost from Maresca's interpretation of positional play (with Lobotka potentially losing ground), and the Salerno-born coach seems to love fullbacks who play as midfielders, like Di Lorenzo and Gutierrez. From the striker he demands lots of runs in behind, which means Hojlund could be properly utilised rather than forced to cosplay as Lukaku, and his background on Man City's staff leads me to think he would without doubt be able to get the best out of De Bruyne, perhaps placing him in his favoured right half-space, and leaving his attacking midfield partner free to roam.

ROGER SCHMIDT

One of the pioneers of gegenpressing, in Germany he earned a reputation as an uncompromising hard-liner, with a wildly vertical, almost brutal style of play. He was the first I ever saw use the tactic - now used by PSG - of deliberately giving up possession to press the opponent high up the pitch. His experiences across the Netherlands, China and Portugal broadened his repertoire and fundamentally changed his approach, his Benfica was a team that seemed to dance with the ball, with fluid, flowing play built on freedom of movement and the combination of many technical players in very tight spaces, probably the most aesthetically satisfying take on relational football I have ever seen. All of it underpinned by his legendary suffocating press. That Benfica was also successful, and his sacking was a serious mistake in my view, given that none of his successors did better than he had at the moment he was let go.

Fit with the squad: Spalletti comes to mind. The 2022-23 Napoli played fluid, free-flowing relational football to great effect, and yes, years have passed and some key players have changed, but many of the crucial figures for that style of play, the Lobotkas, Anguissas, Di Lorenzos, are still here. Gutierrez shares more than a few similarities in his game with Mario Rui (and also with Schmidt's left back at Benfica: Alex Grimaldo), not to mention that Schmidt would be reuniting with David Neres, whose career he revived. I consider Schmidt, like Maresca, an immediate fit.

SIMONE INZAGHI

For me, he is by far the most promising and original Italian manager among those who still have relatively limited experience. The architect of a truly fluid game, like really hella fluid, where defenders act like attackers and midfielders act like defenders, at times lucid enough to abandon that fluidity during periods of fatigue, shifting to more static possession phases. He has the ability to adapt to his squad, even varying his approach drastically, just consider that his Lazio was one of the most vertical teams in Serie A, with fast-play solutions specifically tailored to his best players' characteristics, and his Inter one of the slowest and most cerebral. The only fixed principles in his football are fluidity and total adaptation to the available squad (he's seen as a 3-5-2 fundamentalist, but at Lazio he started with a 4-3-3 and at Al-Hilal he tried endless different systems), along with the ambition to control matches and play as proactive a brand of football as possible. It's true, very much true, that his Inter won less than they deserved (thankfully for us), but under Inzaghi they were a great Champions League side, competing on equal terms with Arsenal, City, Bayern and Barcelona, and I'm not sure Chivu will ever manage to achieve that, even having largely preserved the style of play of Inzaghi's Inter.

Fit with the squad: the discussion here is complicated, because Inzaghi's teams look nothing like one another, and rather than evaluating his style against our squad, it would be more useful to assess whether his ability to adapt can be trusted, in three questions:

• Is his fluid football suited to our players? I'd say absolutely yes, the reasoning mirrors that for Schmidt.

• With a squad prone to significant morale and concentration drops, is he the right person to keep everyone focused? This is where I have the biggest doubts. On a human level, he doesn't seem to possess great leadership qualities, at least from what filters through publicly.

• Is he the right manager to make us take the next step in the Champions League? Without question, his cup record speaks for itself.

TIER A: THE BEST VIABLE OPTIONS?

This is about people more likely to end up at Napoli, either for economic feasibility or simply because it's a profile closer to those Napoli actually targets, and who in my view would be a strong fit for the squad.

VINCENZO ITALIANO

I notice a lot of people on this sub shudder at the mere mention of this name. I, on the other hand, would consider him one of the best possible fits, despite some of his tendencies scaring me and others leaving me unconvinced, and here I'll explain my reasoning. Among the entire school of Italian coaches loosely described as "Gasperinean", the ones who break the game down into a succession of individual duels and flood the flanks to build play, Italiano has in my view shown himself to be the most ambitious. Even though at Bologna he began to ease off the ultra-high press, the high-intensity press with a very high defensive line is unquestionably his trademark (even his coaching licence thesis was about pressing), and in my view he had to lower it a notch at Bologna because that squad lacked the quality in midfield and defence to sustain possession at the level his Fiorentina could. The problem with his teams, in my view, isn't so much his choice of when and how to press, but rather the difficulty in switching from man-marking in the high press to a more zonal approach in the lower defensive block. His teams tend to retain the man-marking mentality a bit too much because they always want to press, leading to mistakes. A truly monumental defensive organiser like Amir Rrahmani (one of the best centre backs in the world, I will forever shout this at anyone who will listen) could solve some of these problems through sheer reading of the game. Italiano shares with Conte a tendency to play through the flanks, pack the box with bodies and whip in crosses, but this type of attacking play is more effective under Italiano, for a simple numerical reason: Conte prioritises balance, Italiano pushes the defensive line extremely high, masses people in advanced areas and tries to stay there, smothering opposition counterattacks through high pressure. Since he pushes a lot of men forward during the build-up phase to break the opposition press in half and open space in the midfield, there is plenty to fear when the ball is lost in build-up play.

Fit with the squad: it exists and is undeniable. Napoli has the physicality to sustain his press and to make the cross-heavy game typical of Italiano's sides dangerous, the capacity for interchange and free movement needed to make his wide play work, the quality in possession to afford to press so high without falling apart. Italiano has a similar intensity to Conte in terms of how much his players believe in what they're doing, his leadership qualities are not in question in the slightest. Some say Italiano is a loser, I say he's the only one in recent times capable of taking Fiorentina to European finals and bringing trophies to Bologna, and that to find out whether he's a winner you'd first have to give him a squad built to win.

FRANCESCO FARIOLI

I'll say it upfront: I'm not a fan. He's a very remarkable coach eh, my only issue with him is purely from an entertainment standpoint. Let's say that, if the Champions League final represented the two main directions positional play has taken in its post-peak evolution away from man-marking, Farioli is one of those managers we can align with Mikel Arteta's footballing philosophy, and therefore a very controlled style, built on defensive solidity, risk containment, set pieces. Farioli has, compared to Arteta, a more mnemonics-driven, Italian-school approach, and this does make his football slightly faster and therefore at least marginally more enjoyable from my perspective. That said, it's undeniable that Farioli is a genuine talent. Even more than the title with Porto, what I look at is the collapse his teams suffered after he left: Nice and Ajax are in PIECES, it was him making them competitive. His 4-3-3 at Porto doesn't allow much freedom of movement (though at Ajax, for example, there was noticeably less rigidity) and he's one of the few managers whose setup actually looks like a genuine 4-3-3. What others achieve through unpredictability, Farioli achieves through the speed of execution of rehearsed moves. Exactly, in this he is reminiscent of Conte. He too can press at multiple heights, goes man-for-man against the opposition build-up like almost everyone, but it's his lower defensive block, zonal, that impresses me, because all his teams are genuinely very solid in that phase.

Fit with the squad: Napoli is coming off a cycle played on broadly similar principles, to which much of the squad adapts well (I see only Lobotka as a fish out of water in a memory-based system), Farioli uses a 5-4-1 in the defensive phase like Conte, modulates pressing depending on the moment like Conte, loves the direct ball to the striker like... well, you get the picture, and while his possession phase has meaningful differences, starting from the structure used, it's similar enough not to create traumatic transitions. It would genuinely be a superb choice, but he renewed his contract in January and I don't see it as especially likely.

TIER B: VIABLE, BUT I HAVE DOUBTS

Here I'm talking about people I'd still be happy to see at Napoli, because I consider them competent, fitting and realistic, but about whom I have some reservations, which I'll explain.

THIAGO MOTTA

Continuing with the Gasperini-inspired coaches who managed Bologna (and Spezia! Their careers are almost identical). Motta's Juventus was unwatchable, I think we can all agree on that, but he still got there, he managed Juventus, and as Ancelotti shows, failing once at Juve doesn't mean failing forever. Motta shares a few tactical ideas with Italiano (pushing a centre-back forward when needed, dropping the central striker deep, man-pressing obviously), but the underlying philosophy is completely different: Motta is obsessed with balance. His fifth-place Bologna was a defensive excellence above all else, and his Juventus too, despite some issues, had spells of absolute impenetrability. This solidity isn't achieved only through out-of-possession attitude, which at the level of principles is the usual one that involves high man-to-man pressure and a lower, more zonal block in a 4-4-2 or 4-5-1, but also through a careful possession phase that constantly thinks about the preventive transition, incorporating elements of both positional play and fluidity. He has a clear preference for disciplined players, and this could be a problem for those sidelined by Conte, who would return only to find a manager with a similarly uncompromising approach. The lack of solutions in possession at his Juventus worries me.

Fit with the squad: the team is physically strong, highly disciplined and capable of positional interchange, carrying both the Spallettian fluidity and the Contian positional rigidity in its DNA, making it very well equipped to interpret his ideas. The absence of a striker capable of linking play with quality could generate the same creative sterility that afflicted Juventus with Vlahovic up front, but then again, we've grown accustomed to that over the past couple of years.

MAURIZIO SARRI

The historic ex. I don't know how young some of the Napoli fans are on this sub, but if you haven't seen that Napoli side, go and watch it: a spectacle. His possession football has remained broadly the same across different formations. It's built on a rigid pass-and-move principle, in which collective movements are conceived in pairs or triplets (so no positional structure and no relationism) and the ball always moves vertically, the centre is sought far more often than the Serie A average and technique is always encouraged, rewarded and developed. The Lazio squad is unfortunately truly desolate in that regard, and this forces the manager to play defensively and on the counter, but this also tells us there is a certain capacity to adapt to the context, while keeping his principles intact. In the defensive phase, his rigid zone is the source of my doubts. Lazio don't have a bad defensive phase in terms of what they concede (seventh in Serie A for fewest xG allowed), but I'm concerned that the press is no longer effective. Lazio sometimes apply pressure and don't always sit deep (from memory, in terms of number of pressures applied they're at Roma's level, yet the quality and intensity of the press is among the worst in Serie A), but they NEVER abandon total zone defending, and by now possession phases are perfectly and mnemonically capable, through simple "third man" combinations, of always finding a teammate behind the lines of pressure. At this point, if you want an effective press, pressing in numerical parity and engaging the opposition build-up man-for-man is non-negotiable, and if you don't do it from the start of the action because you want to maintain compactness, you study "triggers" at the activation of which you press man-for-man (for example the lateral pass from centre-back to fullback, a classic).

Fit with the squad: I have little doubt the squad would adapt well to his demands. There's Rrahmani, who would be the perfect leader of a Sarrian defence, there are many players adept at moving off the ball vertically and playing one-touch, there are no players with the geometric quality of Hamsik and Jorginho, but the physical impact and ability to recycle possession should compensate. Perhaps, for the fit to be complete, a central midfielder with better running and off-the-ball movement than those currently available would be needed.

RAFFAELE PALLADINO

This would be the most romantic option, the manager from Mugnano, a Napoli supporter. He's the most Gasperinean of all the Gasperini disciples, even more so than Juric in my view. Unlike his mentor, however, Palladino always wants a considered possession phase, with more systematic use of build-up from the back and repetitive, coordinated movements. While Gasperini allows more freedom along the attacking chains, Palladino wants the classic "diamond" that forms on the flank (the wide centre-back, the defensive midfielder, the wing-back and the offensive midfielder) in his 3-4-3, to be disciplined, which means every forward run must be compensated by cover, and specific situations generate repetitive responses. His possession phase involves total man-marking, the pressing-trigger system is lifted directly from Gasperini's playbook, but it's precisely the defensive phase where my doubts lie: I believe total man-marking across the whole pitch is only sustainable if backed by the right aggression. If you're marking man-for-man but passively, the result is being dragged all over the pitch, always one step behind: and I get the sense that Palladino's teams get led around without being able to react. This is less visible when he chooses to defend deeper, but given the proximity to goal it seems even more dangerous. His Fiorentina, which generally defended quite deep, was arguably more solid overall than Atalanta, but had some truly disheartening spells of disconnection and passivity.

Fit with the squad: Palladino's possession play is simple and adaptable to Napoli, who already line up in a 3-4-2-1 and already adopt man-marking in the high press. Napoli have some older players in advanced positions, and this approach could force them to defend in their own half if they encounter "braccetti" with some license to push forward (Pavlovic, Bisseck, Atalanta's and Roma's ones ecc.), and yes, De Bruyne has shown the willingness to put himself about defensively and track back, but Lukaku, for example, hasn't really pressed or defended actively for years. Furthermore, while the rigid man-marking approach could bring out the best in Buongiorno, I believe it would hide Rrahmani's qualities, and I don't think it would be worth putting our best defender in a difficult position. Of all the managers listed, as of now I think Palladino would be the least suited to the current squad.

A COUPLE OF HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Managers who would theoretically be possible and whom I like a lot (though not as much as those in Tier S), but who Napoli won't give a second glance:

• Adi Hütter

• Oliver Glasner

• Edin Terzic

• Filipe Luís

• Marcelo Gallardo

• Ernesto Valverde

• Andoni Iraola

And then I'd like to close by talking about him. Yes, him, your nightmare: Max.

I believe Max is a great manager. I still believe that, despite the years of decline, and I also believe it's quite likely that Napoli would perform well under him (in terms of results). But I couldn't bear having Allegri after Conte, sometimes it already almost feels like I'm supporting Juventus in certain games, even more so if we repeat the Conte --> Allegri route. And I don't want to. Also, in these 2020's there have already been enough ugly remakes, we don't need to make another.

I'm sure there's some people I didn't think about, but this is a long ass post already and I seriously doubt anyone will read it.

Hello everyone,

As the season is coming to an end with Conte prepared to leave the club, I would like to see everyone’s opinion on who would be the best option for next season.

Also, the club now has many players that are old such as JJ, Spina, politano, etc.
Which players would you sell and who would you buy if it was up to you?

Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts.

Have a great day

View Poll

I know what we all think about rn.

Most of us wished for Conte gone, now ita happening and we kinda gotta panic because the options are not very good or realistic. Here is my list of my prefered options to take over the team. I know we would all live Pep but im not inluding him cause its just not realistic.

1. Francesco Farioli from Porto (37 years old)

2. Andoni Iraola from Bournemouth (43 years old)

3. Raffaele Palladino from Atalanta (42 years old)

4. Fabio Grosso from Sassuolo (48 years old)

5. Claudio Ranieri from Roma (74 years old)

I think sarri would be a great option to keep in mind if whoever gets signed just doesnt perform just to switch midseason.

I would love to hear your Top 5 and your opinion on my Top 5 Options.

There are tons of good options right now!!!

Is this Sarri thing just a friend favor? It’s the most unambicious move i’ve seen in a Long time…. I Will want him gone from day 1

insane how they left him out

Antonio Conte ha fatto praticamente capire che domenica sera annuncerà l'addio al Napoli, personalmente un po' mi dispiace perché stiamo parlando di un allenatore che in Serie A non è mai arrivato al si sotto del secondo posto, grazie a lui poi attualmente abbiamo un organico ad altissimo potenziale che lui non ha saputo gestire e che chiunque arrivi dopo di lui sicuramente saprà gestire benissimo.

Quindi vi chiedo:

- chi è il vostro sogno proibito che quindi non arriverà mai al 99%?

- chi vorreste di fattibile?

- chi non vorreste assolutamente vedere?

- vorreste ancora Conte?

I miei sogni proibiti sono Klopp che non allena da un po' ma lo adoro dai tempi del Dortmund ed in più lui stesso spesso ha dichiarato di voler allenare il Napoli in futuro, il secondo è Guardiola che proprio ieri ha annunciato la separazione con il City e che anche lui una volta disse che gli piacerebbe allenare il Napoli perché ama la città.

Chi vorrei vedere di fattibile invece sono Palladino perché comunque con il Monza fece 2 anni straordinari, ha un'ottima media punti e con la Fiorentina in Europa arrivò in semifinale, un altro nome è quello di Italiano che è molto stimato di ADL, così come Farioli.

Chi non vorrei vedere invece in primis è Allegri per il suo calcio morto, non vorrei nemmeno Sarri per quanto bene fece all'epoca però attualmente la rosa secondo me è troppo per lui, e se non ricordo anche lui come Conte non è un amante del turnover, e poi non voglio vedere manco Pioli.

Conte lo terrei a patto che faccia ruotare la squadra e non come al suo solito generando una serie infinita di infortuni.

E voi? Qual è la vostra idea?

part of this is fabrizio corona’s fault for sure. conte is a really hard person to deal with but come on. on the centenary we had to keep him and let him promise not to repeat the same injuries story for the 26/27 season; with another market full of buying we could’ve tried and win another championship. now we’ll spend the entire summer wondering if conte’s successor will be good enough to bring it home (it doesn’t matter if a champion like allegri comes because people like ancelotti didn’t manage to win anything so… we’ll see)

goodnight everyone

Will be travelling to Venice and looking to get a Napoli jersey as they aren’t available in my home country. However, when I searched online I couldnt find anywhere with this seasons jersey. Cheers