On Thursday, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis will give a press conference at Castel Volturno to announce the club’s annual summer retreat at Dimaro Folgarita. With so much uncertainty surrounding the club at the moment, the conference could be about much more than just the ritiro at Dimaro.
During the Scudetto celebrations following Napoli’s 1-0 victory over Fiorentina, Sporting Director Cristiano gave a speech that immediately triggered rumours about his departure.
“I thank CEO Chiavelli and president De Laurentiis, they changed my life and I will always be grateful to them. I want to thank his entire family. If Aurelio treated me like a son, Edoardo treated me like a brother in sharing everyday life. The same with Luigi and Valentina. I especially want to thank Giuseppe Pompilio, my family, my son Alessandro, born just over a year ago, and my father who is no longer with us, who always believed in me. And the last thing, to the Neapolitan people: don’t worry about the future, I’ve been here for 8 years and I always hear talk of who leaves or stays, but in the hands of Aurelio De Laurentiis there are never problems, Napoli will always be great!”
According to Italian media, Juventus is the likely destination for Giuntoli, should De Laurentiis release him a year before the expiry of his current contract. Pietro Accardi is the leading candidate to replace Giuntoli, followed by Ciro Polito, whose Bari side will be competing in the Serie B promotion playoff in late May/early June.
Accardi is currently the sporting director of Empoli, a town Luciano Spalletti holds close to his heart. Spalletti ended his playing career with Empoli in 1993, before immediately joining the coaching staff. During his three seasons with the senior team, Spalletti led Empoli to consecutive promotions from Serie C1 to Serie B to Serie A. Empoli is also 26 km north of his home town of Certaldo.
On the 12th of May, Spalletti and De Laurentiis dined at L’Altro Coco Loco restaurant to discuss the future of the club. De Laurentiis would like to further extend the Mister’s contract, after exercising a club option that moved the end date to June 30, 2024.
“Beautiful future!” said Spalleti, after exiting the restaurant. “Napoli took one beautiful step, and the other as well. Beautiful future.” The positive reaction has most Napoli fans optimistic about a renewal, but to date there has been no concrete confirmation of an extension. That could depend on the squad De Laurentiis can assemble (or retain) for the oldest Scuetto-winning coach in Serie A history.
Kim Min-jae’s contract includes a release clause that can be activated between the 1st and 15th of July. The value of the release clause is €50-60 million, depending on the spending capacity of the interested club. Kim has been heavily linked to Manchester United, but the move could depend on whether the Red Devils qualify for the Champions League. In a recent interview with Korean media outlet Star News Korea, a member of Kim’s entourage denied that a deal had been completed.
“It’s not true that a deal is closed with Manchester United. Kim is focused on the end of the season, and we still don’t know which English teams will qualify for the Champions League. There is no hurry for the future. United have been interested in him since he was in China, but we have always and only chatted. I repeat: there has been no contact.”
Manchester United are currently tied with Newcastle United for third in the English Premier League on 66 points. Liverpool are hot on their tails with 65 points, though United and Newcastle both have a game in hand.
Kim was one of the keys to Napoli’s success this season. Another was a healthy Victor Osimhen. With 23 league goals (to go along with five goals in the Champions League), the Napoli No. 9 is three matches away from becoming the first African footballer to win the Capocannoniere.
Osimhen is a true No. 9 (albeit with unique attributes) and there is no shortage of demand from European super-clubs for a true nine. It will indeed take the riches of a super-club to pry Osimhen from De Laurentiis’ wrinkled death grip. The Napoli owner has slapped a €160 million price tag on his prized possession. Historically, that has been an indication that De Lauerntiis does not intend to sell, and with the books balanced and Osimhen’s contract not expiring until 2025, he doesn’t need to.
In addition to Kim and Osimhen, a number of other players could depart this summer. Bartosz Bereszyński and Tanguy Ndombele are not expected to be redeemed from Sampdoria and Tottenham, respectively. Alessandro Zanoli could return to Napoli to back up Giovanni Di Lorenzo after a successful second-half of the season on loan at Sampdoria. Ndombele’s transfer fee (€30 million) and wages (£10.4 million, most of which was paid by Tottenham this season) are simply too high to make the move permanent without a re-negotiation.
Meanwhile, Hirving Lozano and Piotr Zielinski have a year remaining on their respective contracts and both earn relatively high wages. They could be the Lorenzo Insigne and Fabián Ruiz of 2023. Similarly, Diego Demme has one year remaining on his contract and will be eager to join a club where he can feature more regularly.
In short, the club could look very different come August. While the mayor of Dimaro Folgarida Andrea Lazzaroni will be eager to talk about the changes at this summer’s retreat, such as the new grandstand, most of the focus on Thursday will be on the future of Napoli.
