Napoli director Mauro Meluso explains why Piotr Zielinski was left off the Champions League squad and reiterates it was ‘purely about football’ and not revenge for his imminent Inter move.
The match with Verona kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 14.00 GMT.
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Simeone return from suspension, though Alex Meret, Zielinski and Mathias Olivera are still injured, while Victor Osimhen has taken Nigeria to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
After several weeks of a three-man defence, Walter Mazzarri returns to the 4-3-3 formation that allowed predecessor Luciano Spalletti to win the Scudetto last season.
Following the January transfer window, Napoli excluded Diego Demme from the Serie A squad and hope he can find a new club, while Zielinski was cut from the Champions League list.
“We talked to them, explained the logic behind these decisions, which were purely about football,” Meluso told DAZN.
“Leandro Dendoncker, who just arrived, is also out of the UEFA list. There are certain parameters we must stick to and so we had to make these choices.”
There had been suggestions Zielinski was being punished for refusing to sign a new contract, as he is widely reported to already have a deal in place to join Inter as a free agent.
“Zielinski is a golden lad and a great professional, he has given a great deal to Napoli and will continue to give a lot to Napoli, albeit only in Serie A.”
Napoli host Verona this evening and their most expensive signing of the transfer window was Cyril Ngonge from Hellas, who is on the bench this afternoon.
“We are pleased to have signed this player, who is another weapon in the armoury for this squad.”
They had also been in advanced talks with Genoa for Radu Dragusin and Udinese for Nehuen Perez, but ultimately decided to keep Leo Ostigard instead.
“As for the defenders, we always had faith in Ostigard, but the club has to look around and then decide whether to sign players or not.”
.@sscnapoli | Le parole del direttore sportivo Mauro #Meluso su #Zielinski e il mercato in entratahttps://t.co/u1gnGn8CPH
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) February 4, 2024