Amid major investments and heartfelt choices, Napoli restarts with Conte and studies two names for its attack, both from Serie A
Napoli, corsa a due per l’attacco: sono due bomber del nostro campionato (Foto: Ansa) – serieanews.com
In Naples, the Scudetto is being played point-to-point with Inter, but in the meantime people are living in a sort of limbo: because the field is giving important emotions again this year, but the marriage with Antonio Conte has never been more in the balance, although it seems as if it is destined to continue, in spite of recent outbursts and the many market rumors.
No revolutions regardless, then. But a promise to keep: to build a team that matches its coach’s ambitions. Which, simply translated, means putting his hand in his wallet and thinking big. All departments will need a tune-up, but there is one area of the field where it will be impossible to pretend nothing is happening: the attack.
Romelu Lukaku was not as devastating as in the glories of MIlano, agreed. But he did the Lukaku Conte expected: dirty work, sporting, sacrifice. A constant presence, not a twenty-goal finisher but a “double-double” goals-and-assists team-man. The problem, if anything, has arisen behind him.
Cholito Simeone, who two years ago had put an important paw in the Azzurri’s third Scudetto, seemed like a fish out of water this year. He has never really integrated into Conte’s geometries, and the result has been an already written divorce. No use getting around it: if Conte stays, Simeone will say goodbye.
So yes, it’s back to the market. Because Conte wants a real striker, one who can give Lukaku a rest but also, if necessary, challenge him. One who won’t settle for crumbs.
Moise Kean o Lorenzo Lucca: il bivio del Napoli
The first name circulating is not one that leaves one indifferent. It is Moise Kean, resurrected in his new adventure at Fiorentina after a few seasons lived in an alternating current. A player who knows his trade, who knows how to attack depth and who, above all, seems to have the hunger to take a starring role.
Moise Kean o Lorenzo Lucca: il bivio del Napoli (Foto: Ansa) – serieanews.com
The price, however, is mind-boggling: 52 million euros, the clause set by the violets. Not exactly pittance, especially when you consider that Napoli will also have to reinforce midfield and defense. But you know, though, for certain kinds of upgrades you also have to have the courage to break the piggy bank. And Napoli has every intention of doing so, providing a budget of at least 150 million euros.
Should De Laurentiis decide not to uncork the most prized bottle, there is already a Plan B. And it leads to another talent raised in our league: Lorenzo Lucca. Who in Udine made the leap everyone expected, stamping double figures and ending up in the notebooks of half of Serie A.
The Lucca deal would cost about half as much – around 25 million euros – and would also have a different impact on the offensive hierarchy. With him, Lukaku would remain the starter, but Napoli would secure a quality substitute. And above all, a resource to mold, because Lucca still has huge margins ahead of him, despite being the same age as Kean, who instead already seems to have exploded.
One thing is certain: whoever arrives must be ready to play for something important right away. Because Napoli will be sweating on three fronts again, with the Champions League reopening scenarios and ambitions. It will no longer be possible to manage a short roster or depend on a single offensive solution.
The fork in the road, in short, is clear: Kean to try to change the hierarchies right away, Lucca to build a strong alternative without upsetting the current system too much. Two different paths, but both tell one thing: Napoli has decided to relaunch. And this time it really wants to do it.
This article Napoli, two-man race for attack: they are two bombers of our league appeared in its original version first on SerieANews.
