Napoli, defender hunt: all the names in Manna's notebook

Naples, 19 December 2024 - The injury occurred in training at Alessandro Good morning it only made the issue more pressing, but in fact the Napoli needs another central defender to raise the quality level of the second lines and, who knows, maybe even to work with a view to the future. In fact, the present sees the Azzurri engaged only in the championship from now until the end of the season, even with the attractive goal of the scudetto on the horizon, much more tempting but also complicated than the 'simple' qualification for the next one Champions League targeted last summer. Yet, it is precisely the problem as sudden as it is not trivial that will stop for several weeks Good morning has uncovered a critical issue that had actually already emerged after the heavy turnover carried out against the Lazio in the match valid for the round of 16: a reserve problem for Antonio Conte could exist. Especially in defense.  

Defender requirements for January

Hence the idea of ​​taking a centre-back in January who meets certain requirements. The first, the main one in the repair session, concerns the immediate availability of the player, who therefore must be ready for the impact with the Serie A and physically fit: in short, at least in winter there is no room for experiments or gambles, especially for a rear department like the defensive one, which up to now has perhaps been the real spearhead of the entire team. Napoli. The second is experience, another requirement that has become of great importance in the headquarters of Castel Volturno since his arrival on the bench Tale, a coach who notoriously prefers players who are ready and waiting: even more so in January. Then we come to quality: buying just for the sake of buying does not fall within the parameters of either the Salento coach or the Neapolitan club, which is not exactly used to intervening heavily on the market in the middle of the season. Then there is the last variable, perhaps the most delicate for everyone in January: freeing up at least one position through exits. In a session that is rather short and flattened by the general requests that are somewhat common to all clubs. Everyone, in fact, wants similar prospects, in turn, if qualitative, difficult to put on the market by the various clubs they belong to. Speaking of the hypothetical exits of the Napoli, the major, if not the only, suspects are Juan Jesus e Rafa Marin, both not by chance on the sidelines. The Brazilian is at odds with the club for decidedly extra-footballing issues, and in any case probably at the end of his cycle for some time despite the option for renewal activated by the Neapolitan club in Spring 2023. The Spaniard instead arrived in the Campania capital last summer and among other things from my banal team of origin called Real Madrid: at the time many were worried about the formula of the operation, which left (and leaves) the blancos a right of repurchase to be exercised in certain time frames and at certain figures, while today, a few months later and with little playing time behind him, the rejection seems to have been served, as well as the hypothesis of a farewell already in January. The impression however is that in a few weeks only one can leave the Napoli, and obviously only on condition that a replacement is ready to arrive from the market who can improve the situation.

Names for the January market

At the top of the list of Tale there is probably Danilo, perhaps the only profile that perhaps embraces all the requirements set out. However, there are many obstacles and the first is called Juventus, a team already struggling with numerous injuries in defence and therefore unlikely to lose another player along the way: perhaps not even if the Napoli really put on the plate the card of James Raspadori iin a much talked about exchange in the last few hours. Not only that: the Brazilian himself, regardless of what the future will tell, seems intent on finishing the season in black and white. Another suggestive name is that of Milan Skriniar, but the relationships between the Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain they don't seem idyllic after the issue Victor Osimhen, a bit of a 'parsley' in spite of himself when there is a storm in the air. There are other profiles that are more within reach, especially for January. In pole position today is Yak Bijol dell 'Udinese, which however is also liked by theInter and the Juventus and it costs quite a bit (20 million) especially for January. There is more secluded Lucas Martinez Fourth, coming out of Fiorentina come on Cristiano Biraghi, another profile that could interest the Azzurri despite other technical characteristics: in that case, the card to tempt the Viola would be Michael Folorunsho, searched at those latitudes already in summer. Not only that: also Leonardo Spinazzola it could be included in a deal in which the hot-headed attorney would also enter Mario Giuffredi, well known to the Neapolitan club for the many assists present in the roster. Surprisingly, he could enter the notebook of John Manna also Luiz Felipe, at the end credits of his experience at theAl-Ittihad: in this case, given the uncompetitive championship they come from, the doubts are all the prerogative of the Neapolitan club. On the transfer list of the Napoli there is also Jakub Kiwior, which finds little space in theArsenal and who had already considered leaving in the summer: his appearances as a starter in the last few games do not seem to be able to turn the situation around. Then there are those like Ardian Ismajli He has gradually climbed the ranks in the defenders' market, establishing himself as one of the best interpreters of the role in Italy: the contract expiring with theEmpoli, in the event of a failure to renew, could mean for some lucky club the possibility of attempting to purchase him at a bargain price. The relationship between the Napoli and the Tuscan club are notoriously very positive and who knows, maybe this will make the path easier in the context of tough competition.

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