Cristiano Giuntoli insists Napoli ‘tried’ to keep Kalidou Koulibaly, realised Paulo Dybala was ‘not suited’ to them, are ‘evaluating’ Kim Min-jae amongst other defenders and Fabian Ruiz wants to consider ‘market opportunities.’
The situation at the Dimaro pre-season training camp is increasingly tense after the departure of Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, David Ospina and Koulibaly.
All of them left as free agents expect for Koulibaly, who completed his €40m transfer to Chelsea.
“We did consider Koulibaly to be off the market,” said director of sport Giuntoli in a press conference.
“Napoli want to be a virtuous club, as we have been for all these years. We tried to keep him to the end, making an very high salary offer for the current situation, but in the end it was not possible.
“I had said that we needed time, but the truth is that he told us he was not going to accept. I was trying to protect him.
“We are disappointed, but Napoli will go forward with strength and confidence for the future.”
Coach Luciano Spalletti was heckled by angry fans when he spoke on the same stage a couple of days ago, and he was meant to be present this evening, but Giuntoli was the only representative of the club to speak this time.
The target to replace Koulibaly is Kim Min-jae of Fenerbahce, but they face competition for the €20m South Korean from Rennes and Tottenham.
“Kim is a good player, like others. We are evaluating him and getting more information before we really go for it. I am confident about all the players we look at,” explained Giuntoli.
The director of sport was also asked about the Dybala situation, who had been approached by Napoli as a free agent, but has instead decided to join Roma, who offered €6m per season including bonuses.
“I talked about Dybala as an opportunity and we thought he could be, but then we spoke to his agents and it became clear this was not an opportunity for us or for him. Spalletti said he wants to play 4-3-3 and Dybala would’ve forced a change of that vision.
“We are looking for a goalkeeper on the same level as Alex Meret and a replacement for Koulibaly.”
Napoli fans are concerned that the departures mean they are downgrading their ambitions and Giuntoli did seem to admit as much.
“The Scudetto is a dream for us.”
Fabian Ruiz could also leave, as his contract is due to expire in June 2023 and there is interest from the Premier League as well as LaLiga.
“We are talking to his entourage a couple of times per week, it’s all very relaxed. He wants to evaluate the market opportunities, we are evaluating what to do. We want to keep him at all costs too.”
Napoli very sooner than expected will be back in Serie B, what a joke of an owner ADL is. His cheap approach cost Napoli the scudetto this past season and others.
The LIST is Loooooooong of lost players with ADL constant wanting of imaging rights. This team with its fan base should be not only an Italian Powerhouse but a European and global powerhouse. Question? When does ADL contract expire.
ADL needs to either sell Bari and use the funds to rebuild Napoli or sell Napoli so it doesn’t turn into a joke of a club.
They are just trying to save there face why lie just say it you can’t afford to buy top players as your tramps napoli fc supporters deserve all the happiness and best moments but skinjy tramp owner has spoilt it he’s loosing the plot
I think the comment about Bari is spot on. I’ve noticed that ADL has become worse and not so measured since he brought Bari.
Napoli has lost it spine of the team. They’ve also lost opportunities to replace these key players with quality free agents being available. The wage structure is holding the club back. Losing two leaders is a big problem and the Fabian Ruiz situation is getting rather bad. Napoli really need to sign him up to a long-term contract. But would you sign? I think Napoli won’t be able to compete with Lazio, Atalanta and Roma at this rate. However, a few good signings and pinning Ruiz down to a long-term contract could change the situation.
ADL out. Napoli fans deserves better than what’s shaping up to be a mid-table season, if that. Let jeff bezos buy Napoli and pour in that amazon slave labour money.
Lol @ all these comments. Napoli were in Serie C and out of Serie A for like a decade before ADL. Insigne, who has played for the club his entire career to date, Mertens who is 35, and Koulibaly who is going to get paid TEN MILLION Euros per year at Chelsea became too expensive. It’s the end of a cycle. So be it. Just like mighty Juventus let their little gioia go when his requests got too big. Napoli is still in the Champions and will be one of the clubs vying for the CL places again. They will figure it out.
I agree with @Vero and mentioned this in a post last year that that would be the last run for this core group. They were an aging group who had been together for awhile, they re continuity helped them be competitive but sometimes you get too familiar and need to change, Juve is doing the same. The question is how long and how good will the rebuild be?
I agree that teams need a refresh from time to time. However, this needs to be planned with good replacements coming in. Ideally, you want to lose a top player once a season and keep the core. Juve are hardly a model for refreshing the club. They are going back to ugly football to win like Greece and how they did before.
LFC, City and Madrid have refreshed by letting top players go and replacing them quickly, whilst keeping a core. Milan and Inter also did the same last year. Bayern are making big changes this year but keeping the core together.
You clearly cannot compare the resources of Premier league teams with that of a club like Napoli. I’m also wondering what rebuild the Milan clubs did last year, those teams floundered for a decade before finally starting to compete.