Former Inter Milan man Beppe Accardi is surprised that Antonio Conte is the manager linked with the Napoli head coach job but he is convinced that the former Chelsea gaffer can work wonders with Victor Osimhen, Soccernet.ng reports.
Napoli endured a disappointing 2023/24 campaign in which they were dethroned as Scudetto champions by Inter Milan and finished in 10th position – meaning no European football next season.
The Neapolitans were not helped by the constant change of managers, with Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri, and Francesco Calzona handling the team at different times.
Club owner Aurelio di Laurentiis is reportedly close to bringing in Conte to take charge of Napoli.
However, Accardi is not convinced that the former Chelsea manager has the personality to work with the authoritative Napoli president.
“Everyone says that Conte is in pole position for the Napoli bench, but we are talking about the most wrong coach there could be for a club whose president is De Laurentiis,” Accardi said on Radio Crc as per Tutto Napoli.
“Conte costs a lot more than him, but above all, we all know that when he arrives he asks for players. If we start from the assumption that Napoli has already suffered a loss by not achieving the result, tell me how they can handle the cost of a coach like Conte.
“De Laurentiis can also surprise everyone by going in a direction that no one expects: bringing Conte and putting an important team in his hands.”
Conte and Victor Osimhen, Napoli’s top striker, may not get the chance to work together as the Nigerian forward may have played his last game for the three-time Italian champions.
Osimhen has been with Napoli since 2020 following a club-record transfer from Lille and he could be headed to England this summer where he is liked by Arsenal and Chelsea.
Accardi thinks Napoli should sell Osimhen if any admiring suitor meets the club’s valuation of the striker. However, the retired defender is convinced that Conte could get Osimhen back to world-class levels should Napoli decide to keep the Super Eagles star.
“If De Laurentiis takes out the money, he can also keep Osimhen,” Accardi said.
“After last season he certainly doesn’t fit into Napoli’s economic logic, but then it always depends on how much the president is willing to spend. But when they offer you a lot for a player, you have to sell him.
The former Palermo ace added: “Conte is a coach-manager and even more so in Naples he will want to do it.
“I would keep Osimhen and Kvara because finding strong attackers is not easy and with a new coach like Conte, they could go back to being two players of a stratospheric level.”
Osimhen scored 15 goals and added three assists in only 25 league games for Napoli.
Last season, the 25-year-old netted 26 goals in 32 games to become the first African to win the Serie A top goalscorer award while powering Napoli to a first Scudetto title in over 30 years.
