Naples, emergency in defense: all the names in Meluso's notebook

Naples, 26 December 2023 - The transfer market understood by the fans, perhaps more in the summer session than in the winter one, is ultra-luxury and characterized by bombastic names to reawaken even the most dormant dreams. The reality, however, is often different and more pragmatic, with the useful surpassing the beautiful: this is the case of the restyling which in a few days will see the protagonist Napoli, ready to lengthen the rotations in the back department and in particular in the low lanes.  

Hunt for the centerpiece

  The last acceleration in this sense was caused by the dislocation of the right shoulder which occurredOlympic that he will put Nathan ko for at least 2 months: first, however, the in-depth analysis of the case will be decisive to exclude the need for surgery, which paradoxically could also be necessary to shorten the time. In short, as far as the Brazilian is concerned, we are still in the field of hypotheses but only up to a certain point. There is one certainty and that is that the class of 2001 will have it for several weeks: bad news for Walter Mazzarri but also for the person directly involved, who was struggling to establish himself as a flexible protagonist of the defensive department after a start in the summer marked by skepticism and mockery. In these cases, however, throwing the cross at a literally known player, taken from a club that is not exactly at the top in terms of world football (the Bragantino), is completely out of place: the error, assuming that it really occurred, is the result of those who, to replace the shield column Kim Min Jae they relied on superficial research and probably driven by the hunt for savings and the belief of being able to repeat a coup in the name of maximum yield with minimum expense. All these discussions, which are trite and hackneyed, concern the past: the present and above all the future see the Napoli engaged in the search for a central defender who can deal with an emergency not exactly dictated only by the injury of Nathan. Just think about the rest of the battery: Amir Rrahmani it's not the same as last year, Juan Jesus in blue he has never been at top levels and is himself often in the pits due to physical problems and Leo Ostigard, regardless of the coach on duty, remains the last choice. In short, the Napoli seems to have returned to June levels but this time without the climate of euphoria and optimism that pushed fans to trust every transfer move (and not only) Aurelio De Laurentiis: with the aggravating circumstance that several seasonal objectives have already slipped away and that the January session, as we know, is short, complicated and expensive. A triad that is notoriously not liked by the owner, who due to the ongoing emergency throws out practically the same list of defenders that he liked in the summer and then incredibly set aside before surprising everyone with the move Nathan, about which everything that needed to be said has already been said: in the sporting director's notebook Mauro Meluso in fact there are Jakub Kiwior, Clément Lenglet, George Scalvini e Yak Bijol, in addition to long-term care Perr schuurs. However, all (or almost all) seem unassailable at the moment, with their respective teams fighting for the various objectives still standing at mid-season: hence the return of summer regrets, as in the good season all the players are in fact on the transfer market front of the right offer, the one that the 'cicada' De Laurentiis, in the midst of the championship hangover that made everything seem possible for the Napoli and impossible for other clubs, he just didn't want to formulate.

Hunt for full-backs

Today, the 'ant' De Laurentiis try to remedy this by focusing on another critical issue of the squad, decidedly less predictable until a few months ago: the emergency in the low lanes. In fact, no one could have predicted the serious injuries that, speaking of the left-handed winger, have struck almost in series Mario Rui and especially Mathias Olivera, just as few would have foreseen the sharp decline of captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo. One box is missing from the list: that of Alexander Zanoli, the eternal young man in a certain sense eternally poised in his adventure in blue. A new loan round is planned for the class of 2000: again GenoVa, but this time on the rossoblù side, with a space that will therefore be occupied on the right with the additional aim of identifying a profile so competitive that it can almost enter into competition with By Lorenzo, the veteran struggling with a sharp decline. A year ago, in this sort of continuous loop, the task fell to Bartosz Bereszynski, which arrived on loan from Sampdoria and thus had time to avoid relegation and enter the Scudetto party of Napoli. A deal, in short, perhaps more for the Pole than for the Neapolitan club. Not surprisingly, this time the tandem De Laurentiis-Meluso he wants to go to a profile that provides more technical and physical guarantees. There are two names in pole position and even in this case they are not totally new. It starts from Marco Davide Faraoni, already explored in the summer when it seemed at odds with theGreece Verona: at the time nothing was done about it and, in a certain sense, it is possible that the negotiation is even more difficult now that the season has almost reached its halfway point and the Verona club is still in a dangerous situation in the standings despite the recent victory against Cagliari. The other candidate also plays in a formation that fights and will fight for salvation until the end: it's about Pasquale Mazzocchi, en route with the Salernitana at least until he returns to the organization chart Walter Sabatini, the classic unexpected event that could turn the whole situation upside down. If so, there are other profiles that the user likes Napoli, who this time will not have to be caught unprepared so as not to be left holding the bag again or, worse, having to fall back on unconvincing alternatives. What happened in the summer with the poor man Nathan it should serve as a lesson. Already, Nathan, which today in turn needs to be worthily replaced on the market.

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