Napoli Haven’t Forgotten About Former Salernitana Boss

Napoli are going full-steam ahead in their coaching search and will take another look at Paulo Sousa, who was an early candidate to replace Luciano Spalletti last summer. Francesco Calzona’s slim residual chances to stay at the helm vanished in the last two disappointing matches, Il Mattino informs (via OneFootball).

Aurelio De Laurentiis met with the Portuguese gaffer shortly after the title-winning coach’s resignation. The summit created a stir with Salernitana. He wound up staying put but was sacked a few months into the season. He’s now waiting for the right opportunity.

Paulo Sousa joins an ever-growing list of candidates for the Napoli opening. He managed a host of teams in the past, including Basel, Fiorentina, Bordeaux, Poland, and Flamengo. If Milan let Stefano Pioli out of his contract, he’ll be near the top of the leaderboard. He’d be a lot less expensive than Antonio Conte since he makes around €3M yearly.

Instead, the Partenopei president is waffling on Vincenzo Italiano, who’d still be keen on taking over. His current Fiorentina campaign hasn’t been very convincing. The boss will be a strong option for Bologna if Thiago Motta doesn’t stay, Sky informs.

Our Take on Napoli and Paulo Sousa

It’d be an underwhelming choice, but he would at least fit them stylistically on paper. The Azzurri might as well go with an up-and-comer and give him a lot of leeway as they’ll have to manage expectations for a couple of years while they rebuild their squad after multiple meaningful departures.