What to Expect in the Mercato

By: Neil | January 2nd, 2009

In the past I had the opinion that the January market isn’t the best time to change the team around too much. Those kinds of wholesale changes are best done over the summer, I thought, and the January market should be used to make minor changes like injury replacements and maybe adding some depth players to shore up weaker areas. But after Napoli signed four players in last year’s January market, including Santacroce, Mannini and Navarro, I’m beginning to change my philosophy. If you treat the January market as a mini-summer market and bring in lots of new players, you’re chances of finding a player or two who will make a real difference is much better. If the players coming in are good enough, the rest of the team will adapt and there won’t be any problems intergrating them.

Of course Napoli’s success last January was down to our President having a lot of money and ambition, plus a really good transfer guru, something that can’t exist for all Serie A teams. In any case, this season I’m going to welcome a lot of signings without worrying about how it will affect team chemistry.

But before new players arrive, old players must leave to clear up space. There are many players at Napoli who have a difficult time getting more than a game or two, and as a result much of the old guard could be leaving in January.

Samuele Dalla Bona: Rumoured to leave for a while now, but Napoli won’t sell him for cheap. Has been linked with Chievo in the past, but a return to the Premier League is more likely for Dalla Bona. EPL teams can pay a higher transfer fee and the ridiculous wages that Dalla Bona no doubt asks for.

Mirko Savini: Has not seen one game this season, and it’s a matter of when rather that if he’ll leave. From what I saw last year, Savini would fit well at a lesser league than one of Europe’s top three.

Matteo Gianello: Could leave for Salernitana. I think Gianello can play for a bigger team than that, but he may be more comfortable at a team where he’s guaranteed a starter’s job.

Nicolas Amodio: Never really got a chance at Napoli, and needs to go somewhere else to kick start his career.

Inacio Pia: Pia’s disadvantage is that as a small player he is never going to complement Lavezzi. Plays well with confidence and needs a team where he can get regular games.

Marcelo Zalayeta: Zalayeta has looked out of place this year and is probably a better fit for La Liga. Espanyol plus a couple of other Spanish teams have shown some interest. Sampdoria is also an unlikely destination.

Mariano Bogliacino: Hasn’t seen much action since returning from injury and could move to Palermo or Parma.

In addition to those minor players – although Zalayeta’s a major player he’s put in minor performances this year – both Blasi and Rinaudo have been linked with a move to Milan. But I don’t think either player will leave in January, although both of them, especially Blasi, could be gone next summer.

Oh, and Real Madrid has apparently put in a $40 million euro bid for Lavezzi. Let’s hope that one doesn’t go through.

Napoli Team Needs

First off, the deal for Dortmund defender Neven Subotic is apparently off. Dortmund have emphasized that the Bosnian defender is not for sale, and since Dortmund is a club with a huge infrastructure you can believe them when they say a 20 million offer won’t cause them to sell.

As I mentioned in the last post, I think Napoli needs a right sided defender plus a striker. However, the club is looking to strengthen the midfield, and they’re looking to acquire both a defensive midfielder and a left wingback. Napoli has a huge scouting network, and has been linked with so many young prospects I just stopped keeping track of them all. Instead, I’m going to refer you to tutto mercato web who are the rumour champions of the internet.

The left wingback position is a concern because Mannini is awaiting the result of a hearing about missing a doping test or something related. Apparently Napoli has made several attempts to acquire Fiorentina’s Manuel Pasqual, whose contract at Fiorentina runs out June 30th. Napoli is probably trying to get a cut price deal, while Fiorentina, as we know from the Pazienza tranfer, don’t sell their players for cheap. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Napoli has also been linked with Feyenoord’s Dutch prospect Georginio Wijnaldum, who is described as the next Clarence Seedorf. The Eredivisie has a great reputation as a league that emphasizes player development, and some of Europe’s best players have spent their youth in the Netherlands before going on to bigger things. The trick for Napoli will be to not overpay for someone untested at a higher level.

Finally, Pier Paolo Marino has expressed his love for the club and his support for Reja. I really like everything he says, except the part about Reja representing the DNA of the club’s identity. Given the investments of last summer and the first half of the season, Reja should not be so comfortable in his position.

If you come across any rumours, or wish to comment on players linked with Napoli, then leave a comment because there are so many rumours I won’t be able to list them all.