Securing its third Scudetto in 33 years was none other than Napoli. The Partenopei had been close to clinching this elusive trophy several times during the unrelenting Juventus reign, but the stars finally aligned. After a season of complete Serie A domination, Napoli wants to defend its throne. However, this might be complicated in more ways than one.
SIGNIFICANT UPHEAVALS
Few would have predicted that coach Luciano Spalletti would step down after the Scudetto masterclass. “I don’t have the energy to keep up with what is expected of me,” professed the Italian tactician. Behind Spalletti’s reason for taking a sabbatical is a not-so-glittery reality that escaped headlines. In fact, tensions between Spalletti and club CEO Aurelio De Laurentiis had been brewing for some time. Just like many other managers in his wake, Spalletti jumped ship, allowing ex-Roma tactician Rudi Garcia to take over.
Adding to the significant departures was that of centre-back prodigy Min-jae Kim, who left for a €50m fee to Bayern Munich. With Piotr Zielinski tempted by an offer from Saudi Arabia, three important pedestals on which the Scudetto glory was built have left Napoli. Thus far, this is what Napoli’s transfer market sums up to:
- Giacomo Raspadori (€26m – second part of payment)
- Giovanni Simeone (€12m)
- Jens Cajuste (€12m)
- Natan (€10m)
- Elia Caprile (€7m)
A quick glance at Napoli’s transfers won’t inject much enthusiasm into the Partenopei fanbase. However, De Laurentiis’ efforts at locking his team’s talents must not go unnoticed. Despite several bids from big money-spenders, Victor Osimhen is set to renew his contract for a whopping €10m per year + €2m as bonuses. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia also managed to escape transfer headlines, at least, thus far.
SOLID FOUNDATIONS TO WIN AGAIN
As shown by AC Milan last season, a successful title defence is all but guaranteed. Luckily for Napoli, almost all its competitors remained in roughly the same shape, which means that another string of superb performances from Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia might still propel Napoli to the top of the table.
As for the Champions League campaign, we feel that not enough has been done to further bolster the squad, especially in the substitutes department. That said, Napoli is more than capable of progressing through the group stage and maybe even further, should a lucky draw favour the Partenopei.
SERIE A PREDICTION
Napoli is priced 4.00 to lift the 2023/24 Serie A title, second behind Inter, who is still the favourite to win the league at 2.75.
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