Napoli’s summer transfer business has put them in a better position to defend their Serie A crown than the last time they were Italian champions.
History could have repeated itself within days of Napoli winning their second Scudetto in three seasons. Antonio Conte, like Luciano Spalletti, could have left after guiding the club to Serie A glory. Just like his predecessor, the former Chelsea, Inter and Juventus boss wanted Napoli to match his ambition in the transfer market. Spalletti didn’t get his wish, but Conte might.
Talks with Aurelio De Laurentiis kept Conte beyond the end of the 2024/25 campaign with the Napoli owner vowing to improve the squad this summer, and the 76-year-old has so far kept his promise. Indeed, Napoli have strengthened, raising hope at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona that this season’s title defence will be better than the last one.
Kevin De Bruyne’s arrival was a particularly notable capture. The Belgian might be the biggest statement signing made by a Serie A club this summer with De Bruyne someone who could help evolve Conte’s Napoli into a more rounded outfit capable of fighting for silverware on multiple fronts.
Conte has already changed his ways as Napoli manager. The way he used Scott McTominay as a box-crashing merchant of chaos in an advanced midfield role was knew for him. For Chelsea, Inter and Juventus, there wouldn’t have been a role like this for the Scotland to fill. For Napoli, though, Conte recognised McTominay could offer a different dimension.
De Bruyne is expected to be used in a deeper role where he can utilise his passing range to give Napoli more control of matches. Andrea Pirlo played the best football of his career under Conte and De Bruyne could follow in the footsteps of the legendary Italian midfielder in becoming more of a pace-setter than a game-breaker.
Sam Buekema is another notable summer addition to the Napoli squad with the Dutch defender arriving from Bologna in a deal worth a reported €30m. Buekema had been linked with Inter Milan, but was instead sold on Conte’s vision for Napoli. Standing at 6′ 2”, the 26-year-old is a physical presence, but is also comfortable with the ball at his feet. He is the complete modern centre back.
Napoli also beat AC Milan to the punch when landing Noa Lang in a €25m deal from PSV. The Netherlands international will give Conte another option in the forward line, arriving in Serie A on the back of a title-winning campaign in the Eredivisie. Striker Lorenzo Lucca and defender Luca Marianucci will give Napoli even greater depth, joining from Udinese and Empoli respectively.
Recent reporting claims Napoli aren’t done in the transfer window either. The Italians champions are believed to be in the market for a starting winger and have been linked with the likes of Jack Grealish, Alejandro Garnacho and Federico Chiesa with Chelsea reportedly offering Raheem Sterling as an option.
Darwin Núñez is another top-level target on Napoli’s radar, although talks with Liverpool over a move for the Uruguayan striker have recently stalled. That the Serie A champions are weighing up an offer for someone like Núñez, however, indicates their determination to build on the remarkable success of last season.
Two years ago, Spalletti didn’t get the players he wanted. He left Napoli after delivering the club’s first Scudetto since the days of Diego Maradona and Gli Azzurri went through three different managers as they put up the worst title defence of any Serie A side in the modern era – for which De Laurentiis was widely blamed.
He might have had his arm twisted by Conte who reportedly threatened to leave without assurances about Napoli’s transfer plans for the summer, but De Laurentiis has surely learned something from past failures. The club’s summer business suggests they will be competitive once more near the top of Serie A next season.
A resolution on Victor Osimhen’s future will bring the curtain down on a regrettable episode that saw the Nigerian striker spend last season on loan at Galatasaray. Osimhen is now seemingly set to join the Turkish champions permanently in a deal worth a reported €75m, but Napoli could have got more than that for their prize 12 months ago.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia left the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for Paris Saint-Germain in January, marking a further disintegration of the Napoli team that won the Scudetto in 2022/23. That they have been able to retool so quickly with Romelu Lukaku, Alessandro Buongiorno now central pillars of Conte’s side after joining last year.
Conte has moulded Napoli in his own image, it’s just that his image is changing from season to season. Napoli won the Scudetto playing one way and they might defend it playing another. With De Bruyne, Buekema and others already through the door and more still to follow, Conte’s title winners are getting even stronger.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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