Napoli celebrate Serie A title – now they fight to keep their history makers
When England were in Naples six weeks ago, the bunting was already up. Commemorative souvenirs were on sale to celebrate winning the Scudetto. There were still games to win, to confirm them as Serie A champions, but there were no thoughts of a dramatic Devon Loch moment. The Victor Osimhen title-winning cushions were flying off the shelves.
Such was the lead of Luciano Spalletti’s team, they could not be jinxed by celebrating too early. It took them a little longer than expected after a couple of draws and a heavy defeat to AC Milan but Naples was hosting Italy’s biggest party after the result at Udinese more than 500 miles away confirmed them as champions for the first time since 1990 in the Diego Maradona era.
Napoli might be playing 850 kilometres away from the Stadio Maradona, but this is how their home stadium reacted to that Victor Osimhen goal in Udine. pic.twitter.com/FvMc9LNuPW
— Total Italian Football (@SerieATotal) May 4, 2023
It's going to be impossible to sleep in Naples tonight 😆😂pic.twitter.com/fTdDRBcZA2
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 4, 2023
When the celebrations are over in Campania – expected some time in mid-summer – the focus will shift to whether Napoli will keep Spalletti and his players together for the defence of their title. It is not just Osimhen who has seen his value soar in their title-winning campaign. In Georgian forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia they have one of the biggest young talents in world football, while Kim Min-jae is now rated among the very best centre-backs.
The early impressions of the summer is that these talented players will be extremely difficult to buy in the summer window. It is the one club that agents fear working with when players want to leave, such is their ruthlessness in the market. Down the years, president Aurelio De Laurentiis has only sold when it suits him.
Kalidou Koulibaly was on the radar of Premier League clubs for years but only went last summer having turned 30. Jorginho only left for the right price – £57million including add-ons – after Manchester City and Chelsea bid against each other for the Italy midfielder. Others have looked like leaving such as Piotr Zielinski, who got within one full season of his contract ending, but ended up signing a new deal.
De Laurentiis is known as one of the toughest negotiators, fighting for image rights and endorsements as well as salaries of his players. He is not expected to lie down and accept Europe’s biggest club picking off his talent, which includes his staff behind the scenes. Sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli is another who has drawn admiring glances from other clubs. Spalletti’s name will be on the lips of the biggest clubs as the summer reshuffle will see big jobs come up.
Yet Napoli have a knack of keeping their talent. Kvaratskhelia, aka Kvaradona, has spoken of how settled he is in the city, while Osimhen has a market value getting towards £130 million given his free-scoring season and the shortage of world-class No 9s available on the market.
The player who could leave is Kim, who was a target for Tottenham three years ago but ended up going to Fenerbahce. He is thought to be the only player with a buyout clause – and a good-value one as it is believed to be just under £50 million – while other players are either not for sale or have exorbitant asking prices. Among Premier League clubs, Kim is seen as a player with as much talent as Josko Gvardiol but at half the price.
Even if the team does get broken up, they will be known as the great entertainers this season. Not only did they storm to the title, there were scorelines in the Champions League that reverberated around Europe. Four goals against Liverpool, six against the mighty Ajax.
In an interview with Telegraph Sport, De Laurentiis says his background in movie-making means he feels duty-bound to entertain the audience. He also revealed that the club resisted money-spinning pre-season tours to prepare in the Italian mountains at 1,200m altitude. The results have been spectacular.
“I don’t believe in luck. I produced, with the finance of my money, 400 movies and I never had a flop. That is not luck. Hard work, concentration, ideas and marketing,” he said over the phone earlier in the season. His team have been the feel-good story of the season with a Hollywood ending. And he will hope there is a sequel too.
In pictures: Naples celebrates
