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Napoli, the sporting director Giovanni Manna gave a lengthy interview on the stage of the Social Football Summit 2024 discussing the club’s season so far and other hot topics.

The former Juventus executive Giovanni Manna extensively talked about the transfer operations carried out by the Napoli club this summer and what the next moves will be for January. Read the full interview.

Napoli, Manna’s words

RESTART
“The championship is long. We know where we started from and we are trying to return to what Napoli was under De Laurentiis. We are focused on that.”

YOUNG
“I don’t mind being called young. At the beginning, however, it brings complications because you find yourself talking to people you admired on TV. I have a slightly different profile, also because I am not a man who has played. But today our figure is changing.”

SECOND TEAM
“The second team? It’s complicated. The second team is definitely something that should not be an end in itself. There is a longer and more expensive path behind it.” Then, the sporting director talked about the algorithms used in the football world: “I think they are a support. Numbers help you but they cannot decide for you. I am a romantic, I still believe that scouting is about going to see a player. Manna’s touch? He must have free image rights (laughs). However, you know how the market works, you have to be ready for any situation because things change.”

NAPOLEON PRESSURE
“The important thing is to stay focused and concentrated in managing moments. From the enthusiasm of results and the standings to the moments of difficulty that inevitably occur. We must stay away from the emotions of the fans. Naples is a warm city, I did not expect it. You feel obliged to give something back.”

SCUDETTO
“In football, there are many variables, the Scudetto is a distant goal. It’s there, but we don’t think about it and that’s a positive thing. We focus on working with great serenity. If you think about pursuing a complicated goal, you risk working poorly.”

CONTE
“My experience is positive. De Laurentiis has an important stature and from the outside, I was worried. Then he was good at supporting us. For me, the choice of the coach was fundamental. Having a coach with such high stature and such a great CV helped me. For me, it was also a choice for my protection to have Antonio Conte to talk to. For now, there are no problems.”

DEMANDING CHARACTERS
“The coach is very demanding, the president is for many aspects, we must always be on point.”

THE CALL
“In January, I moved to a new house in Turin because I didn’t think I was leaving. After Juventus-Frosinone at home, I received a call from an unknown number in the evening and I didn’t answer. The next morning, he called again, it was Dr. Chiavelli. I informed Juventus and met him, and then I met the president who told me he would choose by May. Then in reality, he called me earlier and said, ‘I have chosen you, talk to your wife and let me know,’ but I had already decided.”

CONTE
“The first meeting with Conte? At his house. We got to know each other because we didn’t know each other at Juventus, I arrived with Sarri and didn’t work with the first team. We talked about football all the time. He didn’t say yes right away, the economic negotiation wasn’t a problem as he had spoken with the president in October. We had to understand our ideas, his ideas, and put them in the current squad. You’ve seen certain players on TV, but you’ve never seen them on the field. It was already there that he said that Di Lorenzo and Kvaratskhelia should not be touched.”

GOOD MORNING
“Alternatives for each role in the market? There are countless. We had a diktat: we had to finance the market with Osimhen’s exit who wanted to leave. We had a budget available regardless, we immediately put the chips on Alessandro. The player immediately said yes, so we went straight.”

EXTRA BUDGET
“Then the market did not lead to a sale, but we were fortunate that having worked Napoli so well there was the opportunity to invest further. We worked with minor operations and some deals fell through. I contacted all those I negotiated with to close. I had also closed Brescianini, but the market dynamics led to something else and it wasn’t even nice with the medical examinations done. There were 20 days left until the end of the market and there were no certainties. Then talking to Chiavelli and De Laurentiis, we realized that it was the right time to make an investment.”

VERONA NOT DECISIVE
“Verona? It was not decisive. We had all the operations in mind, I spent a week in London with three operations in progress. Lukaku, Guilmour, and McTominay. The luck was that De Laurentiis said yes.”

RELEASE CLAUSE
“I am not against it. My player is worth this, if you want him there is no negotiation. At this moment setting a value, even with the Diarra ruling that changed the dynamics, is difficult.

OSIMHEN
“The problem is that there was a negative season. If Napoli had finished second or third, they probably would have paid the clauses.”

KVARATSKHELIA
“We want to reward what has been his path at Napoli because he deserves it. Apart from the fact that he has two more years of contract after this. We want to recognize him, but there are some extra dynamics. We are not under pressure, we have not talked about it and if it is not resolved, we will talk about it in June. We do not have a timeframe, we have talked about it and if it doesn’t work out, we will talk about it in June.”

JANUARY
“There are too many variables, I don’t even have the names. The market is for repairs, let’s see where we end up and then make decisions. We are always attentive to improving the current squad. If there are opportunities, we will improve them, but we have already invested a lot and there will be no big hits.”

DEFENSIVE COUP
“The objectivity is that the team was replaced with another game system. Numerically we could be short in which area, but we must be logical.”

CLOSING THE MARKET BEFORE THE START
“It can be logical because we remove excuses from the system. But it must be the collective European system. At the moment, we have not talked about it. We must be united, all or none. If the market closes for me and others can still operate, a problem arises. It can differ by a day or two but not much. If the big 5 were enough? Well…”

LUKAKU
“He is a player who shifts in the Italian market. Every week there is a controversy, he has scored 4 goals and 4 assists and has a proactive attitude. Of course, in the minds of the fans there is Victor Osimhen who dominated the league alone and they are two different things. Lukaku cannot be discussed, he has scored 300 goals in his career….”

WITHOUT CUPS
“At this level, over time it is not an advantage. It is in terms of work because you prepare the matches with a week of work. In the long run, it is not positive because those who reach these levels are used to playing every 3 days and you want to play those competitions.”

PREMIER MARKET
“I asked for McTominay on loan. In terms of physicality, Serie A has values slightly below the Premier League. The European journey of Italian teams in recent years has been very positive. Even this year the teams are doing well, so it’s even easier. Maybe we underestimate ourselves because a player from the Premier League arrives and tells you that we are strong. Then at an economic level, it is difficult to compete. How did I get him? With a little imagination.”