Sergio Conceiçao is suddenly in pole position to become the next Napoli manager. The name has been kept under wraps up until today, but the talks are at advanced stages. While Corriere dello Sport reports it already as a done deal, other sources are more cautious while confirming that there is considerable momentum toward the hiring. La Gazzetta dello Sport indicates that the 46-year-old coach will need to free himself up from Porto first. If he succeeds, he could reach Italy and be announced as soon as Wednesday.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, Lazio inquired about their former midfielder recently while the negotiation with Simone Inzaghi was lagging. However, the Partenopei swooped in with a strong offer and quickly reached an agreement. Conceiçao has not announced publicly that he is going to leave the Dragões yet, and they will try to talk him into staying with a new deal and project. On the other hand, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is convinced he will sign him.
Napoli have already made official the separation from Gennaro Gattuso, who was on an expiring contract. They have been linked to several gaffers, especially Luciano Spalletti and Massimiliano Allegri. Conceiçao played in Serie A with Lazio, Parma, and Inter. He has been guiding Porto since 2017 and has won two Portuguese titles, two Supercups, and one domestic cup. He reached the quarter-finals in the most recent edition of the Champions League, knocking Juventus out in the Round of 16.