Football Season Guide

In the past two campaigns, with coach Maurizio Sarri at the helm, Napoli often were a pleasure for the eyes as they played a spectacular and hyper-offensive style of football. Unfortunately for them, despite sporting possibly the best attack in Serie A, they failed to bring any silverware home. Having finished on the second and third step of the ladder in the past two years, Napoli are aiming for the Scudetto this time around. With this in mind, the board made sure that none of their stars quit over the summer, despite some timid offers from the richest European clubs, Instead, they tried to strengthen what otherwise was a rather thin squad. The limited options available on the bench for Sarri often proved to be the main reason for Napoli’s incapability of competing against a rival such as Juventus for the final triumphs. So far, they signed just two players, though. Mario Rui arrived from Roma as a likely cover for Faouzi Ghoulam at left-back. Meanwhile, Adam Ounas, who had a couple of excellent seasons at Girondins de Bordeaux, is expected to provide some depth up-front. The result of the Champions League play-off against OGC Nice could be decisive for any further arrivals. The Partenopei hold a 2-0 advantage going into the second leg in France. Napoli are also expected to offload a few players who stand no chance of becoming protagonists with Sarri at the helm. Ivan Strinic, Emanuele Giaccherini, Leonardo Pavoletti, Duvan Zapata and Lorenzo Tonelli as well as a few more are all likely to depart in the next weeks but they should not be missed. However, this time around, Sarri will also be able to count on three players who spent most of the past season on the sidelines or trying to understand where they actually found themselves. This is certainly the case of Arkadiusz Milik who had proven to be a talented striker before getting seriously injured and who can provide some alternatives to the sometimes predictable line-up with Dries Mertens as the false nine. Nikola Maksimović could become a real leader in the heart of the defence alongside Kalidou Koulibaly and Raul Albiol. Marko Rog, who had the chance to display his qualities in the final part of the season should compete with Piotr Zielinski or Allan for a midfield berth. If they manage to make it to the Champions League Group stage, Napoli could end up signing a valid alternative to Pepe Reina in goal and some further options both in the midfield and on the wings.