La Gazzetta dello Sport explains how Antonio Conte’s presence at Napoli was instrumental in persuading Romelu Lukaku, Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour to leave the Premier League in the summer.
Lukaku and McTominay have already made their presence felt since joining the Partenopei, and Gilmour is now set to join them in the starting line-up for the first time, as he’s expected to replace the injured Stanislav Lobotka.
Why Conte strongly wanted to build British Napoli
After accepting Napoli’s offer last summer, coach Antonio Conte demanded a busy transfer window to boost his side’s chances of making an immediate title challenge after their disappointing 9th-place finish last season.
As quoted by Tuttomercatoweb, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the former Inter manager strongly wanted players from the Premier League as he deemed them ready to make Napoli competitive in the short term.
Conte’s winning background also allowed to reverse a trend that has characterised the transfer market in recent years, as his presence is what convinced Lukaku, McTominay and Gilmour to swap a ‘dream league’ such as the Premier League for the Serie A, as the trio longed to work under the Italian tactician.
McTominay scored his first Serie A goal for Napoli during their 3-1 win over Como before the international break, in a game that also saw Lukaku bag his third net from five league matches since arriving at the Stadio Diego Maradona.