The silence from Naples speaks volumes. Massimiliano Allegri remains shackled to his legal entanglements, his arrival at the Stadio Maradona neither c...
The silence from Naples speaks volumes. Massimiliano Allegri remains shackled to his legal entanglements, his arrival at the Stadio Maradona neither confirmed nor denied. Yet, the machinery of transfer speculation grinds on regardless, and GoalZaza has learned that the club's planning is running on two tracks: one for the current regime, and one for the Allegri blueprint that may never materialise.First, the goalkeeper. Alex Meret finds himself in a peculiar kind of purgatory. The shot stopper has shown flashes of the composure that once made him Italy's brightest young prospect, but consistency remains an elusive beast. Does a new manager, especially one as pragmatically minded as Allegri, trust a man who can be brilliant one week and jittery the next Or does he demand a more reliable last line, a goalkeeper who commands his box with the authority of a general Meret's future feels tied to the next man's phone call.Then there is the Zambo Anguissa situation, a conundrum that has caused many a sleepless night in the boardroom. The Cameroonian powerhouse is a wrecking ball in midfield, a man who can single handedly flip transitional play from defensive scramble to attacking threat. But his injury record reads like a casualty list. Allegri, a manager who builds his empire on defensive solidity and midfield discipline, will demand guarantees. Can Anguissa stay fit Can he offer the tactical flexibility to play in a low block, or is he only effective when the game opens up One suspects the answers will dictate whether the club triggers that permanent clause or sends him back to Fulham.And finally, the elephant in the room. Romelu Lukaku. A striker who has, let us be blunt, bottled it at the highest level more than once. Yet he remains a clinical finisher when the mood takes him, a battering ram who can unsettle any defence. For a Napoli side that has lost its cutting edge, Lukaku offers a familiar, if flawed, solution. Allegri, if he arrives, loves a physical target man. The question is whether the club's financial hierarchy can stomach the wages and the baggage. It is high stakes poker in the shadow of Vesuvius, and the dealers are still waiting for the boss to sit down at the table.
