De Laurentiis warning: ‘No Napoli buys within the next month’

NAPLES, ITALY – JUNE 26: Antonio Conte new SSC Napoli head coach and Aurelio De Laurentiis SSC Napoli president during SSC Napoli new manager unveiling on June 26, 2024 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis praises Antonio Conte, but also warns there ‘won’t be anything within the next month’ on the transfer market when it comes to reinforcements.

They are the reigning Champions of Italy after pipping Inter to the top of the table by a single point in a dramatic final round of the season.

“Things went fantastically well this year,” said De Laurentiis at an event this evening.

“Conte did well to deal with all the incidents that came our way, and they were numerous this season. Conte was up to the task and managed to resolve every problem that we perhaps thought might be difficult to fix.

“So the credit goes to Conte if we managed to go all the way and win the Scudetto, although some said ‘well this year the other clubs are weaker’ – false! This was a very tough campaign. All the teams were strengthened, Bologna and Lazio were very good squads, with Roma winning their own personal Scudetto with Claudio Ranieri.”

Napoli now the team to beat

De Laurentiis continued to defend his Napoli primato and warned there are growing problems on the horizon for all of football, as the financial bubble of some markets is about to burst.

“Let us not forget that the football institutions haven’t realised the sport is in crisis. If the Premier League, the richest of all the leagues, is losing £750m every year, that means something is not right. If DAZN drop the rights in France, if the top team there wins with a 20-point gap from second place, then something is wrong.

“I have said for too long that we need to sit around a table and clarify to ourselves what the situation is, not putting on a show for everyone else.”

Napoli must keep Conte happy

Conte had been ready to walk away from Napoli this summer, but De Laurentiis convinced him to stay also with the promise of reinforcements to the squad.

However, today he warned not to expect progress too quickly for incoming talents, apart from free agent Kevin De Bruyne, who agreed to make the move from Manchester City.

“Do not even ask me questions on the transfer market. There won’t be anything within the next month at least. You all write every day that we’re signing 50 players, it gives me a good laugh reading your newspapers,” concluded the President.

Napoli are in the Champions next term, as well as the Supercoppa Italiana Final Four, thanks to their status as the winners of the Serie A title.