Italy legend Fabio Cannavaro believes Napoli will struggle to replace Kalidou Koulibaly and believes Roma are ‘close’ to Inter and Milan, his favourites to win the Scudetto this season.
Serie A starts today with Milan and Inter facing Udinese and Lecce respectively. Cannavaro, a 2006 Italy World Cup winner, believes the Milanese clubs are the favourite to win the title, although José Mourinho’s Roma are not to far from the Rossoneri and the Nerazzurri.
“Inter and Milan, but Roma are not too far. The past counts and Simone Inzaghi and Stefano Pioli have a good advantage,” the ex-defender told Il Corriere dello Sport.
What was the biggest signing of the summer?
“Romelu Lukaku’s return is important, but I am always prudent when it comes to players returning to their former clubs. Paulo Dybala has rightly ignated Roma and it would be redundant to talk about Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria [to Juventus].”
Lukaku has returned to Inter on loan from Chelsea, while the Old Lady signed the two superstars for free. However, Pogba is already out of action due to a knee injury and will likely return next month.
Cannavaro is also excited to see Milan’s new signing Charles De Ketelaere in action. The Belgian starlet joined the Rossoneri only a few weeks ago and will likely start on the bench against Udinese today.
“He is captivating, he is a pure talent, but he should not be compared to any of his predecessors because he must be free to express who he is. He is so nice to watch,” said Cannavaro.
“For Juventus it’s not easy to replace Giorgio Chiellini and Dybala, they are in a transitional period and must go from one era to another.”
Napoli are on the verge of signing Giovanni Simeone from Hellas Verona and are in talks for Giacomo Raspadori of Sassuolo. They have secured the services of Kim to replace Kalidou Koulibaly, who has joined Chelsea.
“Napoli’s revolution is still not complete,” said Cannavaro.
“I’ve read about new goalkeepers and strikers. I hear the unhappiness of the city and I think the biggest issue will be to replace Koulibaly. I like Kim, but I would have loved to see him close to K2 [Koulibaly].
“I can’t wait to see his impact and if Napoli get Giacomo Raspadori, Luciano Spalletti could switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation.
“Roma? Mourinho is a smart man and an excellent coach. He won the Conference League in his first season, which is always a good way to start. He has added physical strength and experience to a team that already had quality. Their starters are on the same level as those of Inter or Milan, but we need to see the impact of the so-called reserves.
“Fiorentina and Lazio have two great coaches. I respect Sarri, I like the way his teams play. Not many talks about Lazio and this could be beneficial. Italiano has many ideas and now Fiorentina must qualify for the Conference League.”
Yeah
Won’t tip juve for the title.
But it’s a good that juve are not the favorites for the title.it will make them humble and fight for the title