I Love Napoli

Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno has revealed that he is honoured to be associated with a club of Napoli’s calibre, though his present focus lies in Germany with his team vying for a top-four finish. The 26-year-old has been identified as a potential option to take up the number one role at Napoli next term, with Pepe Reina likely to leave the club. Reina, formerly of Liverpool, is expected to sign a two-year pre-contract with AC Milan with his Napoli deal expiring during the summer.

Napoli have been dealt a fresh injury blow on Faouzi Ghoulam after the Algerian suffered a setback on his recovery from a knee problem. The left-sided defender was expected to return from a torn ACL for the Naples outfit this month, but a fractured right patella will keep him on the sidelines for at least four weeks.

"Ghoulam was operated on at Villa Stuart by Professor [Pierpaolo] Mariana due to a transverse fracture of the right patella. The intervention was perfectly successful. Faouzi will start rehabilitation [on Saturday]. He will be evaluated in 15 days and should return to the training pitch in a month," a Napoli statement confirmed.

Napoli returned to the top of the table after a 1-0 victory over Udinese during the weekend. The team has been able to claim 12 victories from the 14 league matches. As a result, Maurizio Sarri has seen his team open up a two-point advantage over Inter Milan, who have also gone through an unbeaten campaign. Jorginho was able to score the only goal of the game. This result was extremely crucial as it meant that Inter Milan’s win over Cagliari did not have an impact at the top of the table. It has been a tight campaign in the Italian Serie A with the top three teams separated by just only four points.

Surprisingly, Juventus, who have won the title for the last six seasons, are no longer top of the table with the season fast approaching the winter break. Inter Milan manager Luciano Spalletti has transformed the fortunes of the Milan outfit. After having spent a reasonable sum of money, Inter and Napoli are the two teams left unbeaten so far this season. Even defending champions Juventus have lost two matches out of the 14. After the game, Maurizio Sarri claimed that Napoli could have very well lost the game given the condition of the pitch. The first half goal was a decisive factor in Napoli getting a victory.

Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri has dismissed suggestions that he is about to leave the Italian club.

The combination of existing football, strong tactics, and successful results have madeSarri one of the sought-after managers. There has been a lot of speculation linkingSarri with foreign jobs, but the prospect of enticing him from Napoli appears to be difficult at the moment. Apart from being able to challenge for the title, Napoli also offer Champions League football to the manager and the expression that comes along with it.

Pep Guardiola has held on Napoli as one of the best teams in Europe at the moment. Manchester City have been grouped alongside the Italian outfit in the 2017-18 group stages.

Napoli’s Maurizio Sarri was named as the best coach of the top tier Italian football league, Serie A for the season of 2016-17 even though his team could only snatch the 3rd spot.

Spain international Pepe Reina is likely to stay put at Napoli for the remainder of his contract, agent Manuel Garcia Quilon has revealed.

Italian striker Mario Balotelli has revealed that he is open to a move to Napoli if Silvio Berlusconi does not want his presence in the Milan setup. The Nice forward was with his brother to see the game between Milan and Inter that ended 2-2.