Aurelio De Laurentiis worked under the radar for a few weeks to identify his next sporting director well before the end of the season and kicked the tires on a few candidates before landing on Giovanni Manna, who will join Napoli in July for technical reasons.
According to Corriere dello Sport, the owner reached out to Giovanni Sartori, who has been Bologna’s mastermind in the last couple of seasons after losing a power struggle with Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta. On the other hand, the exec is very comfortable with the Felsinei. He has established a nice rapport with the owner Joey Saputo and the other officials and didn’t want to leave. Other sides tried to poach him unsuccessfully.
Before choosing Manna, the Napoli patron also rekindled his interest in an old target, Empoli’s Pietro Accardi, who’s very coveted, Radio Kiss Kiss informed (via CalcioNews24). However, the parties didn’t reach agreement. He wanted €800k per year, while the current Juventus director will earn half as much. In addition, the Tuscan side’s chief wanted to have carte blanche. Instead, De Laurentiis and his right-hand man Andrea Chiavelli will continue to be very involved in every matter.
Finally, the tycoon touched base with Atalanta’s Tony D’Amico, who hasn’t been in Bergamo for long, TuttoSport informed. Cristiano Giuntoli was among those who vouched for Manna when Napoli asked about him. The hiring came to be quickly. He has been at Juventus in various and increasingly more prominent roles since 2019.
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