Napoli fans call for a rebuild, not tweaks, after Florence draw

Napoli's 1-1 draw at Fiorentina — Gilmour struck in the 23rd minute, Jiménez levelled in the 51st — leaves the club ninth on seven points after five games in Serie A. The result has fed a debate that goes beyond one match: a large part of the fanbase now believes this squad needs rebuilding, not fine-tuning. The mood has built even before the season resumes, on 10 October against Frosinone at the Maradona.

Between the posts, no one convinces

Meret deserves thanks because he's still the goalkeeper of the two Scudetti, while Milinković-Savić is likeable and has good qualities with his feet. Neither of them, though, seems to guarantee the calm we need.

It's a harsh verdict, one supporter wrote — and it reflects this week's mistrust more than any specific fault in either goalkeeper.

A defence to finish, not to fix

At the back, the request is more precise: keep Rrahmani, get Buongiorno back as soon as possible — he's been out for weeks — and pair him with a better centre-back, with Marianucci and Rafa Marín seen as building blocks. Di Lorenzo and Favasuli, who made his Serie A debut on 13 September in the win over Bologna, give the right flank a mix of experience and freshness that's missing on the left, where fans want 'the new Spinazzola, at least 12 years younger' and Olivera remains a question mark. Judgement is still on hold for Beukema, stuck on zero minutes after five matchdays, and Badiashile, signed from Chelsea and on ten minutes so far: both still need to prove they're worth the shirt.

Two big midfield names shown the door

In midfield the list gets heavier: out go Anguissa and De Bruyne, in come Gilmour and Lobotka, plus 'hungry young players like Baturina of Como' and a physical holding midfielder to add bite. It's a request that clashes with the facts of the past few days: De Bruyne has just denied, from Belgium's training camp, any plan to leave Napoli this past summer, and Anguissa's situation is complicated by a request for a better contract, not by any doubts over his level — on top of the adductor injury keeping him out now. Calling for the exit of two players whose form had made them nearly untouchable over the last two seasons says more about how widespread the frustration is right now than about how justified it is.

Rebuilding the attack around Højlund

Up front, the picture is a forward line rebuilt around Højlund: in comes Alisson Santos 'if he improves', with clarity needed on Giovane, also stuck on zero minutes in five matchdays; out go Noa Lang and Lorenzo Lucca, the latter signed for €35m from Udinese after failed moves for Vlahović and Gabriel Jesus, and unable to make an impact so far. Neres, judged 'too fragile physically' and past his best years, would join Politano on the bench to make room for Vergara. The dream profile behind Højlund remains 'an early-career Osimhen' — a pure number nine — which says everything about how much this team misses recognised goalscorers.

These are wishes, not negotiations: the transfer window has been shut since 1 September and won't reopen until 2 January, when only free agents can be signed outside it. It's in January, though, after a summer that closed with a net spend of about €47.5m, that the club could move more decisively. Until then, the rebuild remains a conversation for bars and social media. It's up to sporting director Giovanni Manna to decide how much of this list — some of it reasonable, some of it harder to justify — actually makes it into the club's plans.