Juve queen of the winter transfer market but Napoli are not frightened
The winter market speaks for itself. He won it Juve, placing shots Vlahovic (mostly) and Zakaria. Maxi-investments made possible for this club, on which the judiciary of Turin is investigating for suspected capital gains, thanks to the recapitalization for 400 million made last December. Among the clubs that did not operate there is Napoli and it is not surprising given that Aurelio De Laurentiis has decided to ask himself the problem of reinforcement on the left wing – one of the historical shortcomings of the team after the serious injury suffered by Ghoulam in November 2017 – in the next estate. Napoli stood out for its low activity – to put it mildly – on the market in the winter. In 2016, despite Sarri having finished the first round at the top of the standings, De Laurentiis did not strengthen the staff but limited himself to taking the midfielder Grassi, who immediately managed to get injured, and the defender Regini: obviously the Azzurri did not manage to win the scudetto. Only once, it was 2020, the president made a revolution by investing approx 90 million for Lobotka, Demme, Petagna and Rrahmani (the first two made immediately available to Gattuso, the other two in the following summer). Moreover, due to the economic damage caused by the non-qualification of the Champions League, after the Osimhen blow, Napoli limited themselves to taking loans and released in the three subsequent transfer sessions: this season Anguissa (loan, redeemable at the end of the season for 15 million), Juan Jesus (released) and Tuanzebe (loan).
Luciano Spalletti has been able to enhance a quality staff, using that had been set aside by Gattuso, such as Rrahmani and Lobotka. And now to defend the second place, shared with Milan, and to repel the attack of Juve, he is counting on this squad that has found all its petals: only Anguissa and Koulibaly are missing, possible opponents in the Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday 6 February. With the best Osimhen, Napoli can hit the Champions League goal and maybe dream of something more, if they manage to overcome well the direct clashes with Inter and Milan scheduled at the Maradona stadium on February 12 and March 6. Juventus, however, have 7 points behind the Azzurri and are theoretically 8 because Spalletti subtracted 4 points out of 6 from Allegri. Sure, Max now has the striker to pull off a streak and relaunch his team. To Napoli having the task of not accusing further empty beats to defend what he has conquered with full merit in 23 days and to maintain the gap on the bianconeri who have transformed into a super power. The field will tell if that’s the case.
De Laurentiis wanted (or could not not invest in the market in winter and is already studying the operations for summer 2022, needless to say subject to access to the Champions League, evaluating the profiles identified by the head scouting De Micheli, decisive for the engagement of Anguissa. There are also important internal speeches to be addressed, after having clarified that Insigne will close his career in Canada. Ospina, Mertens and Ghoulam are released and only Dries has the chance to stay, provided that – in the name of love for Naples and the Neapolitans – his economic claims converge with those of the club the contracts of Fabian and Koulibaly which expire in 2023. They have different positions, first of all for personal reasons: the Spaniard is 25, the Senegalese 30. And then Fabian has a salary of 1.5 million while KK has the highest contract with 6. There are always rumors more insistent on the midfielder who speaks little and fortunately so far he has spared us the rhetoric Naples choice of life. With players like Fabian the future is set: De Laurentiis think about it, underwater from the accounts of the Champions League.