Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis is furious for the two big losses suffered in the past week and, while a coaching change in short order is unlikely, he has begun to examine the position of Gennaro Gattuso, Repubblica reports.
The president expected a reaction after the defeat in Supercoppa versus Juventus, instead the Partenopei were outplayed by Verona over the weekend and confirmed their inconsistency as they romped Fiorentina just few days earlier. However, despite six losses in the first half of the season, the position in the standings remains okay as they are three point away from third place with one less game compared to Roma, which should prevent the crisis from escalating.
Gattuso will be given more time, but the squad will have to bounce back in the upcoming matches in Coppa Italia versus Spezia and especially in League play against Parma and Genoa. The gaffer and the owner have already reached agreement on a contract extension, but it will not be ratified at this stage and in any case they will mutually part ways if the Azzurri do not qualify to Champions League.
Corriere dello Sport reported today that De Laurentiis had an exploratory talk with Rafa Benitez, who just left Dalian, however the two have maintained a rapport over the years, so it was not anything unusual, Rai informed.
In other Napoli-related news, Kevin Malcuit will move to Fiorentina on a season-long with option to buy, while the return of Victor Osimhen has freed up Fernando Llorente, who will join Udinese to replace Kevin Lasagna, who is headed to Verona, transfer market expert Alfredo Pedullà reported.