De Laurentiis Dishes on Kvaratshkelia, Conte, and More

Aurelio De Laurentiis is ready to bring several changes to Napoli following a woeful season. As widely reported, the Azzurri will poach Juventus exec Giovanni Manna, although the president didn’t mention him directly during a presser on Thursday (via Repubblica).

“I can confirm the rumor that has been circulating for a while. There’ll surely be a new sporting director, whom I hope could join as soon as possible so we can start operating on the market both ways. There’s nothing defined besides that.”

De Laurentiis wants to keep Khvicha Kvaratshkelia.

“His contract expires in 2027, so I’m very serene on that. The chatter is useles and only embitters some situations. We unearthed him, so it’s up to us to decide how much to give to our players. I read a lot of BS.”

De Laurentiis shied away from the buzz about Antonio Conte.

“I last spoke about him in November. When I appointed Maurizio Sarri from Empoli, they hung some banners against me, and then somebody stole Luciano Spalletti’s car after we finished third. You journalists make it look like there’s just one man who can lead Napoli to glory, but that’s not the case.”

De Laurentiis is gearing up for a busy summer.

“We’re starting a complete overhaul, but we have to consider the timetable. We need to invest well and not rush things. I’ve accepted this miserable season with dignity to avoid waging war and understand what happened. We’ll resume being very strong, but we need time.”