Napoli misses take-off. Now the transfer market: Hojbjerg, Samardzic and Emre Can are the objectives

Naples, 31 December 2023 - The crisis continues Napoli. The reigning Italian champion team is eighth in the standings, 17 points behind the top from Inter and five minutes away from the Champions League zone with the Fiorentina fourth at 33. Not even the change of coach made the Neapolitan team take off, on the contrary. Self Garcia, who probably had a hard time taking control of the dressing room, ended his adventure in Naples with 8 wins, 4 draws and 4 defeats, the arrival of Walter Mazzarri it didn't give the shock that Aurelio De Laurentiis expected, so much so that the owner made a mea culpa about the unsuccessful start to the season. To date, Mazzarri has only achieved 3 victories, 5 defeats and 1 draw, a decidedly insufficient track record not so much for the Scudetto but for European cups in general. The draw with Monza, among other things with a penalty missed by the Brianza team, opened a further glimpse into the Neapolitan difficulties. Significant investments are needed on the market, a sort of revolution to breathe new life into a cycle abruptly interrupted after the Scudetto won with Luciano Spalletti.  

60 million ready on the market

It will be a very active January transfer window for the Napoli. Especially in midfield. Elmas has already been sold to Leipzig, while Zambo Anguissa he will be away for a month for the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast from mid-January to mid-February: reinforcements are urgently needed. In the last few hours it seems that president Aurelio De Laurentiis intends to make significant efforts on the market with investments of up to 50-60 million. The first name, the closest one, is that of Lazar Samardzic. The Udinese midfielder was betrothed to Inter in the summer, then it seemed there was a strong interest from Juve but the costs, around 25 million, were not sustainable from the Juventus coffers so Napoli entered. The figure is that including bonuses and the player's satisfaction is all there. The clue is Samardzic's bench yesterday in the match won 3-0 at home against Bologna. In fact, Napoli expects to close quickly in early January in order to have him available as soon as possible due to Anguissa's imminent departure. Not just Samardzic. Contacts made for Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, also a Juventus target. In this case we need to understand Tottenham's strategy, i.e. whether there will be an opening to a loan with right of redemption so as not to burden the current financial statements. The Dane from Tottenham can represent a good alternative also from a future perspective considering that Piotr Zielinski, whose contract expires, will almost certainly leave on a free transfer (there is talk of an agreement with Inter).

The defense also needs to be redone

 

The defense is also under accusation: the Napoli they are the worst on the left side of the table with 21 goals conceded in 18 games. The release of Kim it opened a major fracture, which was not properly repaired Nathan, then the generating balance of the team was affected as well Rrahmani and Juan Jesus they got into trouble. Interventions are planned in the central area with two former Serie A players in the sights. They like the Japanese Takehiro Tomiyasu, seen in Bologna until two seasons ago, and the Polish Jakub Kiwior, seen at Spezia with Thiago Motta. Both play for Arsenal and one of the two could even be sold if they do not fit into the Gunners' plans, even if the costs appear to be prohibitive. In Serie A they like Radu Dragusin, but Genoa did not sell him in January and his dream in the future is to land in the Premier League.

Simeone should be evaluated, but without Osimhen...

 

But pay attention to the possible exits. There is an attacker who is deeply dissatisfied with his situation and that is Giovanni Simeon. In Serie A he has made 13 appearances for just 261 minutes, to which he added 5 chips in the Champions League and one in the Italian Cup, with a total of 403 minutes played. Few if we also consider the physical problems he had osimhen. The son of art wants to play more and Napoli must carefully evaluate the situation. There is a lot of Spanish La Liga about Simeone, where his father coaches, with Seville e Betis interested, but the Neapolitan club has to face the African Cup of Nations in which it will be involved in January osimhen, in a national team, Nigeria, which can go all the way and deprive itself of two attackers at the same time can be a big risk. So Simeone's possible desire to go elsewhere clashes with Napoli's need to keep him.

A season to revive

 

Two out of three objectives have already disappeared for the Napoli. The delay from Inter is cosmic and the team has 19 points less than a year ago, a sign of a deep crisis and which did not have the main responsibilities in Rudi alone Garcia. Furthermore, Napoli is also out of the Italian Cup and there are few things left to cling to in the season. One can certainly be there Super Cup, semi-final on January 18th with Fiorentina, and the other is represented by the Champions League, not so much to win it but at least to try to start a good path. First opponent the Barcelona in the round of 16: difficult, but not entirely impossible. And in the championship? It is absolutely necessary to get back into the top four places that are worth the Champions League, both for a question of prestige and attractiveness on the market, and for a strictly economic question in terms of revenues from sponsors, box office and European participation. The mission is Walter's Mazzarri, who could find themselves on January 31st with a squad that is profoundly different from the current one. It is the last move, the market, by President De laurentiis to straighten out a season that started badly and risks ending worse. A winter session to save the day: the ball is in the president's hands, who in the meantime has had to apologize... Read also - Napoli crisis, De Laurentiis apologizes to the fans MANUEL MINGUZZI