2019 Summer Transfer Window Report Card: Napoli

The summer transfer window officially closed shop on Monday in Italy, with several clubs managing to get some last minute shopping done – including Napoli who secured the rights of Spanish striker Fernando Llorente on a free transfer after his contract with Tottenham ran down.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the Partenopei’s purchase business and hand them a grade. Continue reading

Napoli’s Alex Meret is back on the goalkeeping radar in Europe

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When teenage sensation Gianluigi Donnarumma overthrew Diego Lopez as AC Milan’s undisputed number one keeper back in 2016, and was tipped as the heir to heralded champion Gianluigi Buffon’s Azzurri throne, many other young shot-stoppers in Italy’s talent factory fell by the wayside.

Despite the long lineage of developing top keepers and track record of producing in both quality and quantity, the Mino Raiola-represented star seemed to be a notch above the rest the country’s domestic talent. But in 2017, it was Italy U-17 goalkeeping coach Fabrizio Ferron’s bold affirmation of another from Udine as being technically superior to the Rossoneri phenomenon ushering another into the conversation for the peninsula’s top goalkeeping talent. Continue reading