Napoli 'smell blood' & target Premier League's discarded stars

Kevin de Bruyne joined Napoli after not receiving a new deal at Manchester City Sun, sea and a city basking in the triumphant glow of its recent Scudetto. Naples is an easy sell for wealthy footballers looking for a new experience this summer. "If you are rich, Naples is amazing," lauds journalist Vincenzo Credendino. "One day you pick up the boat you go to Capri, another day you go to Amalfi, to Pompeii. You eat good, there are a lot of things to do. Naples, if you are rich, is very attractive. It has always been like this." While estate agents have long pointed new arrivals to the luxury hillside villas of Posillipo, it is a recent phenomenon that those enticed to Napoli by president Aurelio de Laurentiis are coming from the Premier League. After Scott McTominay, who joined from Manchester United, earned cult status in Campania for spearheading Napoli's Serie A success, the film producer-turned-football club owner returned to add six-time Premier League winner Kevin de Bruyne to head coach Antonio Conte's ranks. He joins Romelu Lukaku and Billy Gilmour as others prised from the Premier League payroll since the Conte era began last summer. And there could be more. De Bruyne's former City team-mate Jack Grealish - a £100m signing from Aston Villa four years ago - has also been linked, as has United winger Alejandro Garnacho, while Credendino believes there is interest in United and England forward Jadon Sancho, who spent last season on loan at Chelsea. "People in Napoli are thinking Aurelio de Laurentiis is going crazy," laughs Credendino. "In our mind, he is the president who tries to win, clearly, but always by putting the finances first, always being very careful about the economic side and doing a lot of player trading. "That was the core business of Napoli. Now things have changed. Aurelio de Laurentiis is smelling the blood of the opponent, of the enemies." McTominay scored 12 goals in 34 games to win Serie A's MVP Award in his debut season for Napoli Napoli won Serie A last season for the fourth time in their history and the second time in three seasons. The first two titles, in 1987 and 1990, came during the Diego Maradona era. In 2023, Luciano Spalletti won their first Scudetto in 33 years before Conte steered I Partenopei to last season's triumph. Conte's side finished one point above Inter Milan, who lost successful boss Simone Inzaghi to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal earlier this month. Atalanta, who finished third, also saw long-term head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, the man who led them to Europa League glory two years ago, leave for Roma. Traditional powerhouses Juventus are undergoing something of a restructure, while AC Milan will not compete in Europe next season. As their rivals stall, Napoli are looking to capitalise. "Napoli is very stable. They plan before others so they have the money to convince a player like De Bruyne to embrace this new adventure," explains Federico Mari, a Milan-based international football executive who specialises in transfer strategies, club acquisitions, MCO and cross-border strategy. According to Transfermarkt, Napoli rank 30th on a list of the world's most valuable clubs - below 15 Premier League sides and fifth among Italian clubs. They went bankrupt in 2004, dropping into the third tier, and were acquired by De Laurentiis, who guided them back into Serie A by 2007. They have been European regulars since, winning the Coppa Italia three times and, finally, those long-awaited league titles. "Napoli is a very well-run club," says Mari. "For the De Laurentiis family, Napoli is their main family business and the past 10-15 years they have managed to do well both on the pitch, but also off the pitch." Mari highlights the sales of Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus for £75.3m, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (£59m) and Edinson Cavani (£55m) to Paris St-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 were very good at finding this talent and putting them in a place to do well, to play in Europe," adds Mari. "If you have this stability to grow your business, have a club where everybody is aligning, they have a clear goal, then it happens that in some time you are better off or richer than some clubs who are usually more powerful than you - AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus." If De Laurentiis "smells blood", it may also be because he has a serial winner in the dugout tickling his nostrils. Last season's Serie A title was the fifth of Conte's managerial career, becoming the first manager to do so with three different clubs. He also won the Premier League with Chelsea between those other successes at Juventus and Inter Milan. "If you want to make young players grow, you pick other coaches," explains Naples-based journalist Credendino. "If you pick Antonio Conte, you already know he will ask you to buy Romelu Lukaku. No problem." Indeed, after loan spells at Inter and Roma, Belgium forward Lukaku joined Napoli permanently from Chelsea at the beginning of Conte's reign last summer. "Conte wants to live in the moment, winning in the moment," adds Credendino. "He cannot win with only young players with not so great experience. He likes young players, but when they are already stars." De Bruyne, whose contract expired at City, is another vastly experienced and decorated addition. He reportedly took a pay cut to join Napoli and, according to Credendino, is on 5.5m euros (£4.7m) per year following an initial 10m euros (£8.5m) signing on fee - making him the club's second-highest earner behind compatriot Lukaku. Antonio Conte won Serie A for the fifth time as a manager last season - his first success with Napoli after lifting the title three times with Juventus and once with Inter Grealish, Sancho or Garnacho would also not come cheap, however, which begs the question why Conte and De Laurentiis are shopping for expensive but out-of-favour Premier League names. "Some players in the Premier League are not in a top moment, but if they come to Italy, with the mismatch we now have comparing the leagues, someone who in the Premier League plays at six out of 10, in Serie A they are an eight out of 10 level," says Credendino. Serie A is certainly older. Napoli had, on average, the second-oldest side in the Italian top flight last season at 28.2 years - only behind Champions League finalists Inter, who finished Serie A runners-up, with 29.1 years. In contrast, Fulham were the oldest in the Premier League at 27.9, according to Transfermarkt. Statistics from Opta suggest a higher intensity in the Premier League too, teams pressed more and possession was won in the opposition's final third over 600 times more than it was in Serie A last season, with 40 more goals scored following high turnovers. Players also dribbled or carried the ball significantly more than in Italy. "The tactical side of it is slower than English football," striker Keinan Davis, who joined Udinese from Aston Villa,told BBC Sportlast season. "I am physical and there are not really too many of those players. You see Lukaku and people with physical attributes do well. In England everybody is physical and everybody is fast." That said, Conte is renowned for being a manager who works his players incredibly hard. For all Naples' charm, those joining should not expect a holiday retreat. "De Bruyne probably has the feeling he will join a competitive team with one of the best coaches in the world, who is well known to be a killer in training because he makes players run like crazy, but he is a winner," adds Mari. "The Italian league is still very well known for tactics, so maybe if he is thinking in the future if I want to become a sporting director or a coach, I am going to learn new stuff in Italian football with Antonio Conte. The lifestyle is appealing, with a top coach in the best team in the league."