Thursday's papers look to January while Napoli sit tenth

Four days after the 1-1 draw with Lazio and the protest at the Maradona, the papers on Thursday 12 November are mostly about January. The reason is plain. The transfer window reopens on 2 January, and it is the only area where the club can still promise anything.

Buy, or sell first

Corriere dello Sport leads with Giovanni Manna: "In January Napoli will buy." The headline matters because the man saying it is the sporting director who built the summer squad.

The same paper covers the Lang case. According to Corriere dello Sport, the Dutchman's future at Napoli could be back in question after his clash with supporters at the Maradona. It adds that Manna is following Chelsea's Bynoe-Gittens.

Il Mattino looks at who could leave instead. Lucca could go in January, and the club would also try to sell one of Neres and Alisson Santos. Il Mattino says Lucca could also be used as a makeweight in a deal for Esposito, a route that would depend on Sassuolo's €10m buy-out.

The two papers do not contradict each other, but read together they change the promise. Corriere dello Sport says Napoli will buy. Il Mattino says they have to sell first. The January that emerges looks more like a swap of pieces than a real reinforcement.

The names

On targets, the papers go in different directions. Sky Sport reports that Napoli have opened contacts with the agents of Manchester City's Ait-Nouri. Juventus are also interested, and City would need convincing on how the deal is structured. Sky Sport also links Napoli with Tylel Tati, a Nantes centre-back born in 2008.

TuttoMercatoWeb plays down the Kvernadze story, calling the interest "slight". Frosinone are working on a new contract, and his €4m release clause only applies from July. It is no use for January.

Off the pitch

Il Mattino returns to the land at Qualiano for the new training centre. The paper says the process is in its final stretch: the application for the ZES (a special economic zone with tax incentives) is still missing, and the signing is expected in 2027.

La Repubblica reports an announcement by Tommaso Bianchini in Turin: Roberto Monzani will be Napoli's Chief Marketing Officer. The club's Centenary project, meanwhile, has won the "Best Content Strategy" award.

Our view

The papers talk about January because it is easier than talking about now. Before 2 January come Torino, Manchester City and Sassuolo, and nobody is asking what side Napoli will field for those games, with Di Lorenzo and Lobotka out until mid-December.

"In January Napoli will buy."

That line has to be weighed against who is saying it. The man who builds the squad answers for the squad, and the striker Allegri asked for in the summer never arrived. Before reading the list of names, we would like to know what went wrong in August, so it does not happen again.