Antonio Conte has found another set-up with Romelu Lukaku and Jack Raspadori: great chemistry and great idea for the future. Yet a backstory troubles fans
Il Napoli scopre la LuRa, ma il retroscena fa rumore: “Stava andando alla Juve” (Foto: LaPresse) – serieanews.com
Imagine you are Antonio Conte. You are at the helm of Napoli, first in the standings, but emergency is knocking overwhelmingly at the door. David Neres is in the pits, attacking ideas seem to be in short supply, and the pressure to maintain the summit grows.
What do you do? You come up with something. And if there’s one thing Conte does well, it’s come up with solutions in difficult times. And so on a cold January afternoon, LuRa, the understanding between Romelu Lukaku and Giacomo Raspadori, was born, destined to make fans dream.
Yes, because this is not just an attacking pair, it is a throwback with a twist. Remember LuLa, the famous crasis that made the fortune of Conte’s Inter team? Lukaku and Lautaro, one mighty and the other quick, able to exchange balls like twins separated at birth.
Well, now the scene shifts to Maradona, and next to Big Rom is Jack Raspadori, who in terms of characteristics looks a bit like Lautaro, at least in basic technique and the desire to squeeze into every space. So much so that, in recent weeks, one of the ideal destinations for him seemed to be Inter Milan, at the time when Napoli was looking for Frattesi.
LuRa’s dress rehearsal convinced. Raspadori’s goal on Lukaku’s assist, a few but interesting exchanges and the feeling that, with the right break-in, this pair could give good satisfaction. Conte spoke of an “emergency solution,” but the feeling is that this is not really the case. Raspadori, with a physical forward next to him, seems to be transformed: freer to range, less pressed, more effective. Lukaku acts as a buoy, opening up spaces, and Jack can finally show off his full repertoire.
The question, at this point, is how much will we see LuRa again in the future? Conte, it is known, is one who does not get fossilized on first ideas. If something works, he rides it all the way. And with Neres still out, this pair could become much more than just a Plan B.
Il retroscena di mercato su Raspadori: “Juve e Marsiglia ci hanno provato”
Behind this new tactical chapter, however, there is a backstory that his agent, Tullio Tinti, revealed to Sky Sport: Raspadori’s future was in the balance until the last day of the market, and this was predictable, but the closest to getting him was Juventus itself.
Il retroscena di mercato su Raspadori: “Juve e Marsiglia ci hanno provato” (AnsaFoto) – serieanews.com
“It is clear that Giacomo would like to play more, and we have tried. We looked for a chink until the last, with Juve and Marseille seriously interested. But Napoli is first in the standings and for them Raspadori is an important player, a valuable alternative to the starters. In the end, he willingly stayed to fight for another Scudetto.”
A choice of heart and ambition, then. But the message is clear: Raspadori wants space, he wants to play, and this second half of the season will be decisive for his future.
And so the question arises: what if LuRa itself is the key to definitively exploding Jack’s talent? Conte has shown in the past that he can build strikers tailored to his system. Lukaku, under his guidance, has become one of the most feared center forwards in Europe. Why couldn’t the same happen with Raspadori, perhaps reinvented in a new position?
Raspadori e Lukaku insieme: l’intesa funziona (Foto: Ansa) – serieanews.com
It is not hard to imagine Napoli fans dreaming of a new winning arrangement. Sure, the road is long, and tactical experiments do not always bear immediate fruit, but LuRa seems to have all the makings of a stable reality.
And who knows, maybe in a few months we will talk about this pair as one of Conte’s happiest insights. In the meantime, Jack Raspadori has a golden opportunity: to take Napoli and convince everyone that the choice to stay was the right one.
This article Napoli discovers LuRa, but backstory makes noise: “He was going to Juve” appeared in its original version first on SerieANews.
