Not everyone was convinced when Napoli put €35 million on the table to snatch Giacomo Raspadori from Sassuolo this summer. However, in less than half a season, the young Italian has proven the doubters wrong. Jack has produced multiple great performances for Napoli and might even be the answer to the attacking troubles of the Italy national team.
While watching Napoli-Ajax in a room full of Neapolitans on Wednesday night, the name of Raspadori entered the conversation. “You don’t even miss Osimhen with Jack playing like that”, I argued, to highlight Raspadori’s recent performances. My neighbour smiled and expressed his happiness with the young star. A couple minutes later, Raspadori found the net with a rocket that came from his left foot, his weaker one. “You said it, you said”, the guy next to me screamed while celebrating.
No place
That Raspadori would cement himself as a pillar of this Napoli team so quickly, wasn’t obvious at all. When i Partonopei acquired him from Sassuolo this summer, there was some critique. First and foremost: where would he play? At Sassuolo, Raspadori played primarily as a left-winger or behind the striker. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had already taken the spot on the left side, while the 4-3-3 formation used by Spalletti didn’t really allow a ‘real’ number 10. Raspadori also played occasionally as the main striker for the Neroverdi, but that role was already taken by Victor Osimhen, while Giovanni Simeone had replaced Andrea Petagna.
There was also his price tag. Raspadori’s talent was evident and the 22-year-old came off the back of quite a good season, with 10 goals and 5 assists in 36 Serie A matches. Even still, a fee of €35 million seemed a bit much for a player that, at first glance, didn’t have an obvious place in the team. From a different perspective, the deal was understandable. While it’s a lot of money, Napoli are first loaning Jack for €5 million and then they’ll acquire him permanently for €30 million next summer. Also, Napoli might have thought about Osimhen’s departure, which could come as soon as the following summer. Making the deal in 2022 would allow Raspadori a season to integrate into the squad while preventing i Partonopei from possibly paying more next summer.
Proving the critics wrong
Due to the injury Osimhen sustained against Liverpool, Raspadori got his chance to shine earlier than some might’ve expected. He opened his account at Napoli with a late goal against Spezia at the Maradona. Since then, Raspadori has scored four goals and provided one assist in the Azzurri shirt. Those are pretty good numbers, considering he shared duties with Simeone. They don’t even tell the full story, as Jack is important to Napoli’s general play too. For instance, he regularly drops deep to help with the build-up. Raspadori also scored twice in the Azzurri of Italy’s national team, including a stunner against England. There is no better way to silence the doubters.
Someone who also deserves some credit for the sudden emergence of Giacomo Raspadori is Luciano Spalletti. The Napoli coach has always had a keen eye for talent. Whereas many coaches would’ve replaced Osimhen with Simeone, Spalletti had other plans. He knew how he wanted to play Raspadori and it worked out great.
What now?
The big question now is how will Spalletti set up his attack with Osimhen returning from injury. It’s not an easy question to answer. Osimhen has proven to be an amazing striker, but Raspadori is on great form. Perhaps now is the time to switch formations and try to make the two work together. With Anguissa out for a few weeks, one solution could be to go back to the 4-2-3-1. That would put Jack in one of his favourite positions, behind the striker, while also not changing too much in a team that’s running smoothly. Whatever Spalletti decides, it seems almost certain that the rise of Raspadori won’t end anytime soon.
