Napoli are reportedly at work to find a potential replacement for Luciano Spalletti, with Antonio Conte the ‘dream’ option. There are fresh doubts over Spalletti’s future at the club, with suggestions from the Italian press that the Tuscan coach was not happy with the way his contract renewal was handled.
Journalist Nicolo Schira reports that Spalletti is ‘getting closer to leaving Napoli at the end of the season’, even though he secured a Scudetto for the club after a 33-year wait. This is despite club president Aurelio De Laurentiis triggering an option in the coaches contract to extend his deal for one more season, until 2024, with Schira claiming that the relationship between the two has ‘stalled’ for now.
Todays print edition of Il Corriere dello Sport claim Napoli are already working to identify a replacement for Spalletti, whose departure ‘appears to be one step away.’ According to the newspaper, the ‘dream’ would be Antonio Conte, the coach that De Laurentiis ‘likes most of all’.
Despite the interest in the former Spurs, Inter and Juventus coach, the club would need to factor in the ‘economic’ implications of hiring Conte, given his large salary demands a reported €13m a season.
The alternatives are reportedly Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who was already close to joining Napoli in the past, and Fiorentina’s Vincenzo Italiano. Finally, in the background is Roberto De Zerbi, who is very liked but unlikely to leave Brighton.
