Napoli are Italy's best-run club and free to buy

Napoli are Italy's best-run club and free to buy in January, says Mondellini

The editor of Calcio e Finanza expects the ruling on club accounts on 30 November and sees no obstacle for Napoli in the window. He also says Allegri is losing games he does not deserve to lose, which our recent results only partly support.

by Rosaria CimminoThursday 12 November, 16:12 CET· 44 min ago

Mondellini: «Il Napoli è la società meglio gestita in Italia, eppure è rimasta bloccata». Ma per gennaio non vede ostacoli — Grafica Arena Napoli

Napoli's January transfer window depends first on a ruling on the accounts. The commission that monitors club finances collected figures up to 30 September and is expected to decide on 30 November, the day after Sassuolo-Napoli.

Luciano Mondellini, editor of Calcio e Finanza, already has a view on how it will go for us: "I think, though, that it will have no problems acting in January." He added something that also works as a warning: "there is always the possibility of selling even when the window is blocked."

His sharpest point was about how the club is run. "Coming to Napoli, in light of what happened last year, it's a paradox, because it is the best-run club in Italy, but it was blocked."

He also recalled the clubs that had problems in the summer: "Lazio, Sassuolo, Como are the ones I remember. Many recapitalised by putting money in; the only one that stayed blocked was Lazio."

That same Lazio, unable to move in the summer, are now top with 29 points and unbeaten. On Sunday 8 November they came to the Diego Armando Maradona and took a 1-1 draw. They are 14 points ahead of us. The window does not explain everything. Still, our tenth place owes something to a summer that ended with Badiashile and Favasuli, and without the striker Allegri asked for.

Our January depends on who leaves

In Napoli's case, the selling Mondellini mentions is already the plan. On 6 November at Castel Volturno (the training ground), De Laurentiis promised reinforcements for January. But the squad list is full, and a place has to be freed to register Buongiorno again.

De Bruyne, Anguissa and Neres are the names being looked at to fund signings, while there is little market for Lucca and Lang. Sell first, then buy. The commission will say whether Napoli are free to act; how much room there really is depends on who goes.

The Allegri question

"Allegri, who used to win games he didn't deserve to win, is losing games with Napoli that he wouldn't deserve to lose."

On part of the numbers, Mondellini is right. Opta calculates that Napoli have collected 4.5 points fewer than their play has produced, the biggest gap among the leading clubs.

The matches tell a different story. The 4-1 defeat at Porto and the 2-0 loss to Juventus can hardly be called undeserved. Against Lazio, the first-half shots were 12-5 in their favour. Talking about bad luck takes responsibility away from the man who picks the team and makes the changes.

Seen from here, there is another paradox. On 7 November the Curve (the hardcore ends behind the goals) displayed a banner telling the president that his only goal is monetary value. Four days later came the opposite verdict from outside: the best-run club in Italy.

Both can be true, and that is exactly the problem. A club with model accounts that has 15 points from 11 matches, the lowest in the De Laurentiis era, has to explain where the resources that kind of management should guarantee have gone.

There are three games before the ruling: Torino at the Maradona on Saturday 21 November at 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET), Manchester City at the Etihad on Tuesday 24 November and Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium on Sunday 29 November. The verdict on the accounts should follow the next day, and the window reopens on 2 January.

If Napoli are still 9 points off fourth place, the stated target, by then, knowing they are allowed to buy will be of little use.