Napoli Tracking Serie A Trio to Shore Up Their Defense | OneFootball

Antonio Conte has reportedly set the acquisition of another top-level center-back among his desires to stay at Napoli, and the management agrees with that and is considering three options in particular: Genoa’s Koni De Winter, Udinese’s Oumar Solet, and especially Bologna’s Sam Beukema, Calciomercato informs.

The Azzurri are believed to have already secured the signing of Luca Marianucci from Empoli for about €10M. The talent has been a regular and has progressively grown in the second half of this season.

However, Napoli are contemplating adding a more experienced option as well: Beukema and Solet are in their prime, while De Winter is 22 but already has 64 Serie A matches under his belt.

Despite their sound defensive numbers, the Partenopei have had some issues at the position. Alessandro Buongiorno has been more banged up than in his Torino days, missing time on two occasions. Juan Jesus filled in decently, but he just suffered a season-ending thigh injury. The two absences allowed Rafa Marin to resurface after spending the whole campaign on the bench. The Azzurri swung and missed for Fiorentina’s Pietro Comuzzo in January.

Our Take on Napoli, De Winter, Solet, and Beukema

Having three top-notch center-backs is a must while playing in the cups, especially in a team that flip-flops between a four and a three-man line. The Bologna star is the best of the lot, but also figures to be the most expensive and difficult to pry away. Udinese will be open for business, but only at the lofty sums since they signed the Frenchman not too long ago. The Genoa youngster is a notch below but has a lot of room to grow.