De Laurentiis: ‘De Bruyne knows he will make the difference’ at Napoli

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis insists negotiations for Lorenzo Lucca and Sam Beukema ‘were rapid’ and assures Kevin De Bruyne ‘knows he will make the difference.’

The pre-season training camp in Dimaro opened this week and coach Antonio Conte held a lengthy press conference, which you can read here.

Following that event, President De Laurentiis sat down with Sky Sport Italia to cover some of the new signings made this summer.

“This morning we signed the contract with Lucca so that he could start training with his teammates. This evening Beukema will arrive, as he passed his medical tests.

“When we get a new player, I always tremble until our medical staff give the all clear from the Villa Stuart clinic.”

These are moves that took many weeks to get over the line, but the patron insists the actual work to negotiate was “rapid. When you want a certain player, you go straight to the heart of it, so it doesn’t take much time.”

Napoli strengthening the squad for Champions League

Conte won the Serie A title last season and is now in the Champions League, so has asked for numerous reinforcements.

“As well as the help from Conte, there is that of more experienced players working with those who perhaps never played in Europe before.”

The biggest new buy for Napoli was a free agent, as De Bruyne was out of contract following a decade at Manchester City where he won it all.

“What struck me about De Bruyne was his focus and professionalism. He looks straight to the future, he knows perfectly well that when he steps onto the pitch, he will make the difference in that midfield,” said De Laurentiis.

“I have to say that I am happy with all the signings that I made. Even Giovanni Manna qualifies as a great signing, because he is an excellent director of sport and knows football so well.

“Plus we have Conte, who can do no wrong. If a player accepts his courtship, he knows full well that this coach will get more out of him than anyone ever has before.”

There are some problems for De Laurentiis, who has bitterly criticised numerous clubs, UEFA, and FIFA for the whole infrastructure of the football world.

“Football is extremely in debt, not just in Italy, but around Europe. I see chaos in the Lega Serie A based on the fact that owners ought to be present in the meetings, not just administrators. This is something that needs to be resolved.

“It is also caused by the presence of investment funds, who are passing through and need to maximise results for their shareholders.

“There are also too many of us, there isn’t enough revenue to fuel 20 top flight clubs.”