Serie A struggles Napoli are said to be determined to shore up their defensive woes by signing a top-class defender this summer. According to Calciomercato, Antonio Conte met Torino’s Alessandro Buongiorno in person last Thursday to discuss his potential move to the Stadio Diego Maradona.
The pair had dinner in a restaurant in Turin, assessing the possibility of the 24-year-old’s switch to Napoli. Conte sees the Italy international as an ideal replacement for Kim Min-jae, who left Naples to link up with Bayern Munich last summer.
Napoli brought Nathan to replace the South Korean star. However, the move hasn’t panned out as expected, with the Brazilian struggling for most of his first season in Serie A. Without Kim, the Partenopei’s backline looked up the creek without a paddle, conceding 48 league goals.
That’s 20 more than in their trophy-winning season in 2022/23. As such, Napoli will reinvest a large portion of the monstrous fee they’ll receive for Victor Osimhen to strengthen their backline. For Buongiorno, in particular, it would take around €40 million to convince Urbano Cairo.
In addition to Napoli, Milan and Inter are interested in the Torino center-back. Teams from abroad, particularly Tottenham Hotspur, are also keen on Buongiorno, suggesting a potential bidding war could be on the horizon. Therefore, Conte’s meeting with the player could prove crucial.
Conte can be persuasive. He’ll need to use his charm to convince Buongiorno to choose Napoli over other destinations now that they cannot bring European football to the table.
 |
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |