Newly-appointed Napoli sporting director Mauro Meluso took stock of the club’s transfer plans for the summer in his maiden press conference. Aurelio De Laurentiis has brought in the former Lecce and Spezia executive to fill the vacancy following Cristiano Giuntoli’s move to Juventus.
Although Napoli released the official announcement of Meluso’s appointment four days ago, the 58-year-old spoke to the press for the first time on Sunday. Meluso addressed the club’s market strategy in his opening media appearance as the new Partenopei transfer handler.
In addition to reiterating the club’s intent to hold on to marquee striker Victor Osimhen, he confirmed the necessity to sign replacements for Kim Min-jae and Tanguy Ndombele.
“If we can keep him, it’s a great thing because he is a player who makes a difference in Serie A. But I arrived recently. We will work as a company, all together, on every issue,” he replied when asked about the Osimhen issue, as relayed by Gianluca Di Marzio.
Osimhen’s sublime form carried Napoli to the title in 2022/23. His stunning performances haven’t gone under the radar. Numerous prominent European clubs have set their sights on him. But De Laurentiis won’t entertain offers for his standout performer.
Unfortunately for Napoli, they couldn’t have done anything to stop Min-jae’s move to Bayern Munich. Besides the Korean defender, Tanguy Ndombele returned to Tottenham Hotspur upon the expiry of his loan spell at the Diego Maradona Stadium.
Meluso insists Napoli will do everything to find reliable alternatives.
“Kim is a player who will have to be replaced. We will work on this. We will have to work to replace those few players who left. Ndombele and Kim are gone, they need to be replaced. Then I can’t say everything, otherwise I would do my job badly.“
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