‘Napoli smell blood’ – why the Serie A champions are eyeing unwanted English Premier League stars

Napoli won the Italian League last season for the fourth time in its history and the second time in three seasons. The first two titles, in 1987 and 1990, came during the era of Diego Maradona. In 2023, Luciano Spalletti won his first title in 33 years before Conte led the Partenopei to victory last season.

Conte’s team finished the league one point behind Inter Milan, whose successful coach Simone Inzaghi lost to Al Hilal Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Atalanta, who finished third, also saw their coach Gian Piero Gasperini, the man who led them to Europa League glory two years ago, leave for Roma.

The traditional Juventus team is undergoing a restructuring process, while Milan will not compete in Europe next season. With their rivals faltering, Napoli will look to take advantage.

“Napoli are very stable. They are planning ahead of others so that they have the money to convince a player like De Bruyne to embrace this new adventure,” explains Federico Mari, an international football executive based in Milan who specializes in transfer strategies, club acquisitions, MCOs and cross-border strategy.

According to Transfermarkt, Napoli are the 30th most valuable club in the world – below 15 teams in the English Premier League and fifth among Italian clubs.

The club went bankrupt in 2004, were relegated to the third division, and were taken over by De Laurentiis, who led them back to Serie A by 2007. Since then, the team has become a fixture in Europe, winning the Coppa Italia three times and finally the long-awaited league titles.

“Napoli is a very well-run club,” says Mari. “For the De Laurentiis family, Napoli is the main family business and over the past 10 to 15 years they have managed to do well both on and off the pitch.”

Mari highlights the sales of Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus for £75.3m, and Hveica Kvaratskhelia (£59m) and Edinson Cavani (£55m) to Paris Saint-Germain. Napoli spent more than £70m on Victor Osimhen in 2020, but after a year on loan at Galatasaray, he is expected to leave this summer.

“They have been very good at finding these talents and putting them in a position to play well in Europe,” Mari adds. “If you have that stability to grow your business, and you have a club where everyone is lined up, and they have a clear goal, it can sometimes happen that you are better off or richer than some of the clubs that are usually stronger than you – Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus.”