Spalletti, Napoli
MILAN, ITALY - MAY 26: FC Internazionale coach Luciano Spalletti looks on during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Empoli FC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on May 26, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)

Napoli Eye Spalletti Successor, Three Italian Coaches Shortlisted

Napoli fans targeted Luciano Spalletti with a preposterous banner asking him to leave the club after a series a disappointing results saw the once Scudetto title contenders lose momentum. Despite etching themselves a UEFA Champions League spot, Napoli are understandably disappointed because of how close they were for a first league title since the days of Diego Maradona.

As the season comes to a close, the Partenopei are reportedly eager to replace the former Roma coach with another Serie A gaffer. According to Il Giornale journalist and transfer market expert Nicolo Schira (via TuttoNapoli), the club’s upper management has ‘made polls for a change of technical leadership’.

There has been contact from the southern giants asking information for three top-tier Italian coaches. President Aurelio De Laurentiis is a fan of the three – Fiorentina’s Vincenzo Italiano, Shakhtar Donestk’s Roberto De Zerbi and Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini.

With Napoli, Spalletti has the third-highest win rate of any club he has managed in his career till date – 56.5% – after Roma (66.6%) and Zenit St.Petersburg (57%).

However, it is the lack of silverware at the San Paolo that has triggered disappointment all around.

Napoli are third in the league table with 73 points, five behind Inter seven behind Milan. Juventus, however, sit just four points behind the Partenopei with two games remaining in the season.