Napoli Owner Meet Up with Secondary Coaching Candidate

Napoli added a new name to their shortlist of options for the bench, Vincenzo Montella. Aurelio De Laurentiis bumped into the Turkey coach in Rome lately. The two sat down for a wide-ranging conversation, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.

The Azzurri patron liked the coach earlier in his career when he helmed Catania and Fiorentina. His following stints weren’t as successful, but he has rehabbed his reputation abroad. His side qualified for Euro 2024, finishing ahead of Croatia, and recently beat Germany.

Montella grew up as a Napoli fan as he was born in Pomigliano d’Arco on the city’s outskirts. He spent a campaign and a half at Adana Demirspor, finishing fourth before leaving, after his second spell at Fiorentina, which went poorly. That also happened at Sampdoria, Milan, and Sevilla.

According to Il Mattino (via Tuttomercatoweb), De Laurentiis offered a three-year contract with €8M wages to Antonio Conte, who’s taking his time. Moreover, the owner would seriously contemplate Gian Piero Gasperini or Stefano Pioli if they left their respective clubs. The former might do it if he finally won a trophy. Instead, the latter is at serious risk of getting the ax following the Europa League elimination.

Our Take on Napoli and Montella

The fact that they are getting continuously linked to new names isn’t reassuring regarding their Conte pursuit. Their search is starting to look like a wild goose chase like the previous ones.