Sun, oversea and a metropolis basking successful the triumphant glow of its caller Scudetto. Naples is an casual merchantability for affluent footballers looking for a caller acquisition this summer.
"If you are rich, Naples is amazing," lauds writer Vincenzo Credendino. "One time you prime up the vessel you spell to Capri, different time you spell to Amalfi, to Pompeii. You devour good, determination are a batch of things to do. Naples, if you are rich, is precise attractive. It has ever been similar this."
While property agents person agelong pointed caller arrivals to the luxury hillside villas of Posillipo, it is simply a caller improvement 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 presumption successful Campania for spearheading Napoli's Serie A success, the movie producer-turned-football nine proprietor returned to adhd six-time Premier League victor Kevin de Bruyne to caput manager Antonio Conte's ranks.
He joins Romelu Lukaku and Billy Gilmour arsenic others prised from the Premier League payroll since the Conte epoch began past summer.
And determination could beryllium more.
De Bruyne's erstwhile City team-mate Jack Grealish - a £100m signing from Aston Villa 4 years agone - has besides been linked, arsenic has United winger Alejandro Garnacho, portion Credendino believes determination is involvement successful United and England guardant Jadon Sancho, who spent past play connected indebtedness astatine Chelsea.
"People successful Napoli are reasoning Aurelio de Laurentiis is going crazy," laughs Credendino. "In our mind, helium is the president who tries to win, clearly, but ever by putting the finances first, ever being precise cautious astir the economical broadside and doing a batch of subordinate trading.
"That was the halfway concern of Napoli. Now things person changed. Aurelio de Laurentiis is smelling the humor of the opponent, of the enemies."
Napoli won Serie A past play for the 4th clip successful their past and the 2nd clip successful 3 seasons. The archetypal 2 titles, successful 1987 and 1990, came during the Diego Maradona era. In 2023, Luciano Spalletti won their archetypal Scudetto successful 33 years earlier Conte steered I Partenopei to past season's triumph.
Conte's broadside finished 1 constituent supra Inter Milan, who mislaid palmy brag Simone Inzaghi to Saudi Arabian broadside Al-Hilal earlier this month. Atalanta, who finished third, besides saw semipermanent caput manager Gian Piero Gasperini, the antheral who led them to Europa League glory 2 years ago, permission for Roma.
Traditional powerhouses Juventus are undergoing thing of a restructure, portion AC Milan volition not vie successful Europe adjacent season. As their rivals stall, Napoli are looking to capitalise.
"Napoli is precise stable. They program earlier others truthful they person the wealth to person a subordinate similar De Bruyne to clasp this caller adventure," explains Federico Mari, a Milan-based planetary shot enforcement who specialises successful transportation strategies, nine acquisitions, MCO and cross-border strategy.
According to Transfermarkt, Napoli fertile 30th connected a database of the world's astir invaluable clubs - beneath 15 Premier League sides and 5th among Italian clubs.
They went bankrupt successful 2004, dropping into the 3rd tier, and were acquired by De Laurentiis, who guided them backmost into Serie A by 2007. They person been European regulars since, winning the Coppa Italia 3 times and, finally, those long-awaited league titles.
"Napoli is simply a precise well-run club," says Mari. "For the De Laurentiis family, Napoli is their main household concern and the past 10-15 years they person managed to bash good some connected the pitch, but besides disconnected the pitch."
Mari highlights the income of Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus for £75.3m, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (£59m) and Edinson Cavani (£55m) to Paris St-Germain. Napoli spent much than £70m connected Victor Osimhen successful 2020 but, aft a twelvemonth connected indebtedness astatine Galatasaray, helium is expected to permission this summer.
"They were precise bully astatine uncovering this endowment and putting them successful a spot to bash well, to play successful Europe," adds Mari. "If you person this stableness to turn your business, person a nine wherever everybody is aligning, they person a wide goal, past it happens that successful immoderate clip you are amended disconnected oregon richer than immoderate clubs who are usually much almighty than you - AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus."
If De Laurentiis "smells blood", it whitethorn besides beryllium due to the fact that helium has a serial victor successful the dugout tickling his nostrils.
Last season's Serie A rubric was the 5th of Conte's managerial career, becoming the archetypal manager to bash truthful with 3 antithetic clubs. He besides won the Premier League with Chelsea betwixt those different successes astatine Juventus and Inter Milan.
"If you privation to marque young players grow, you prime different coaches," explains Naples-based writer Credendino. "If you prime Antonio Conte, you already cognize helium volition inquire you to bargain Romelu Lukaku. No problem."
Indeed, aft indebtedness spells astatine Inter and Roma, Belgium guardant Lukaku joined Napoli permanently from Chelsea astatine the opening of Conte's reign past summer.
"Conte wants to unrecorded successful the moment, winning successful the moment," adds Credendino. "He cannot triumph with lone young players with not truthful large experience. He likes young players, but erstwhile they are already stars."
De Bruyne, whose declaration expired astatine City, is different vastly experienced and decorated addition. He reportedly took a wage chopped to articulation Napoli and, according to Credendino, is connected 5.5m euros (£4.7m) per twelvemonth pursuing an archetypal 10m euros (£8.5m) signing connected interest - making him the club's second-highest earner down compatriot Lukaku.
Grealish, Sancho oregon Garnacho would besides not travel cheap, however, which begs the question wherefore Conte and De Laurentiis are buying for costly but out-of-favour Premier League names.
"Some players successful the Premier League are not successful a apical moment, but if they travel to Italy, with the mismatch we present person comparing the leagues, idiosyncratic who successful the Premier League plays astatine six retired of 10, successful Serie A they are an 8 retired of 10 level," says Credendino.
Serie A is surely older. Napoli had, connected average, the second-oldest broadside successful the Italian apical formation past play astatine 28.2 years - lone down Champions League finalists Inter, who finished Serie A runners-up, with 29.1 years. In contrast, Fulham were the oldest successful the Premier League astatine 27.9, according to Transfermarkt.
Statistics from Opta suggest a higher strength successful the Premier League too, teams pressed much and possession was won successful the opposition's last 3rd implicit 600 times much than it was successful Serie A past season, with 40 much goals scored pursuing precocious turnovers. Players besides dribbled oregon carried the shot importantly much than successful Italy.
"The tactical broadside of it is slower than English football," striker Keinan Davis, who joined Udinese from Aston Villa, told BBC Sport past season.
"I americium carnal and determination are not truly excessively galore of those players. You spot Lukaku and radical with carnal attributes bash well. In England everybody is carnal and everybody is fast."
That said, Conte is renowned for being a manager who works his players incredibly hard. For each Naples' charm, those joining should not expect a vacation retreat.
"De Bruyne astir apt has the feeling helium volition articulation a competitory squad with 1 of the champion coaches successful the world, who is good known to beryllium a slayer successful grooming due to the fact that helium makes players tally similar crazy, but helium is simply a winner," adds Mari.
"The Italian league is inactive precise good known for tactics, truthful possibly if helium is reasoning successful the aboriginal if I privation to go a sporting manager oregon a coach, I americium going to larn caller worldly successful Italian shot with Antonio Conte. The manner is appealing, with a apical manager successful the champion squad successful the league."
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