Today is really like then. “We are behind on the market. Lukaku? I don’t like to talk about other players, but for us it would be important, you know that.” Anthony Conte he doesn’t mince his words. In fact, he didn’t send them. Because these words are from the July 2019when during the Asian tour, the coach of theInter he expressed himself in this way about the construction of the team. The striker would then arrive a month later, to his and the fans’ great joy (in two years he brought the Shield). And who knows, maybe he will arrive in Naples soon, where Conte is always ready to wait for him, as a series of reinforcements that are still missing: to see the match of Italian Cup against Modena, to believe.
Small step back: the official premiere of Count at Maradona it didn’t go as the coach would have wanted. A very tiring 0-0 in front of fifty thousand fans that doesn’t leave a smile on their lips, despite the passage to the next round coming on penalties. The attack struggles to sting: “Raspadori And Simeon they did well,” he said in the post-match, but the market news confirms that the second is still on display and awaiting a new placement. Who is missing? Lukaku.
Who in the meantime trains in Belgium following a personalized work schedule prepared by Conte’s staff, while waiting for the situation to be unblocked upon exit Osimhen. On the Nigerian, the sporting director Manna was clear in the pre-match: “He wants to leave, we’ll see what happens in the next twenty days”. And in the meantime De Laurentiis is evaluating the hypothesis of have the Belgian arrive earlytaking the risk of not finding a solution for the player courted by PSG and Arsenal. A solution that would serve to calm the coach’s initial fires.
“Bath of humility” – Because it is above all his words that are ringing the alarm bell. “Reinforcements? We need them. There are objective facts that prove it. A Naples many players don’t want to come because they wouldn’t get the money they would find elsewhere, or because we don’t play in the Cups. It’s not easy, but I accepted this solution. Today’s match (Saturday, ed.) must be a good one for us bath of humility”. A clear signal to the management, who had promised a team as complete as possible by the start of the championship. The season will start next week, but the coach still asks for a midfielder (or two), an offensive winger and Lukaku. Not the striker, Lukaku.
For the first case, the names are Brescianini of Frosinone, who is however young and will need time to grow, and Gilmour of Brighton, whose costs are higher than 15 million euros. For the second, however, the eyes are increasingly focused on the Brazilian Blacks: the negotiations with Benfica are ongoing, the winger has not been called up for the friendlies because he wants Italy. Only, a small detail, the Portuguese are asking 30 millionwhich in Naples would be financed only and exclusively by Simeone’s departures (precisely), Cajuste and Natan. Plus Osimhen, of course, who with his at least 90 million – De Laurentiis hopes, who until recently was asking for 130 – would go to settle the accounts and also facilitate the arrival of Lukaku for another 30 million or so. A stalemate situation, in which the management preaches “patience”, while the coach pushes on the accelerator. He does it again, he always has. The “Conte package” is also this. And the first sign has already arrived.
