Torino refuse to sell Cacciamani in January and push Napoli back to summer

Torino have decided that Alessio Cacciamani is not leaving in January. Napoli's interest is real, not just for show, but Torino see the former Juve Stabia winger as unsellable this winter and want to keep him. The only opening is the summer, when things could change.

So Cacciamani is not an option for January.

It is a blow. Along with Varela, he was the hottest name on Napoli's winter list. After an hour-long meeting with Allegri and Manna at Castel Volturno (the training ground), De Laurentiis promised reinforcements in January. The window opens on Saturday 2 January 2027 and closes on Tuesday 2 February at 20:00 CET, but the list is getting shorter before it starts.

Varela is still on it. His agents say they are "flattered", and Monza might settle for around €15m plus Lucca or Giovane on loan, although Monza's chief executive Baldissoni says he is counting on the Portuguese player for the whole season. In midfield, the names are Coulibaly, for whom Monaco want €50m, and Zorgane, valued at around €15m.

A question that has to be asked

Here is an awkward question. Napoli are tenth with 15 points after 11 games. That is 9 points off fourth place, the target Allegri set, and 14 behind Lazio. Those 15 points equal the lowest total of the De Laurentiis era.

In the summer, the striker the coach asked for never arrived, and the one that got away is Gabriel Jesus. The fans want a centre-back, and the 25-man squad list is already full: to bring Buongiorno back onto it in January, a place has to be freed.

Against all that, the most public pursuit of recent days was for a 19-year-old winger. Torino wanted €45m for him, and now he is not even for sale. The president put his own name on the line and came home with nothing.

We are not saying Cacciamani is the wrong player. We are saying he is not what this Napoli side needs right now. The January window cannot become a shop window for names that will never arrive.

There is another point. The club has already started on sales. Lang, bought from PSV for €25m plus bonuses, could leave for €15-20m, and Lucca is expected to go. Buying in January will first mean selling and freeing up places on the list. That is another reason a blocked target hurts more than usual: there is little room for error.

Meanwhile, Cacciamani plays for the Torino side that comes to the Maradona on Saturday 21 November at 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET). It will be Napoli's first home game since the boos and protests at the Lazio match. The debate over who arrives in January will run for weeks. Against Torino, only the three points matter.