Napoli Repubblica: Two Purchases Stabilise Bari’s Finances

The well-known Italian newspaper La Repubblica featured a piece this morning on the current state of Napoli, the reigning Italian champions, under the leadership of De Laurentiis.

The departures of Giuntoli and Spalletti have made for a challenging start to this season, confirmed by the team’s 17-point deficit compared to the same time last year. However, La Repubblica further highlights that the team’s performance has not been significantly impacted by the transfer market.

The paper directly quotes, “The three purchases of Natan, Cajuste, and Lindstrom have in fact not improved the squad and the other two, Caprile and Cheddira, have more than anything else settled the accounts of Bari.” The quote’s implication being that the recent transfers made by Napoli have not been effective in elevating the overall quality of the team’s skill pool, and, in fact, seemed to serve the financial interests of Bari more.

This story gives us an insight into the struggles on and off the pitch that Napoli is facing in a time when they are reigning Italian champions under De Laurentiis rule.