Transfer rumors: New Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti looking to raid Real Madrid this summer
By Ben Sundock
Former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti has found himself a new job in Italy. The new coach of Napoli wants to raid his former club this summer and add some youth to the side from Naples. Here is who he is targeting.
Real President Florentino Perez will need to be wary of a few of his players possibly leaving for the Serie A this summer. Napoli is reportedly targeting Karim Benzema, Borja Mayoral, and Achraf Hakimi.
Ancelotti, upon becoming the manager, added several Real Madrid players to his transfer list after having spent three years in the Spanish capital. It is clear when looking at these rumors that Carlo is intrigued by the youth and depth in Madrid.
Napoli had a very successful 2017/2018 season, finishing second in the league. However, the depth of the squad proved costly in their Champions League campaign as they were unable to make it out of the group stage.
They were then unable to make it out of the round of 32 in the Europa League as they fell to RB Leipzig due to the away goal tiebreaker. Had it not been for this poor showing in Europe, former boss, Maurizio Sarri, might have kept his job.
Many Madridistas may not be concenred with the three players that are being targeted, but Hakimi has a very bright future as a right-back. While I am not the biggest Karim Benzema fan, his clutch goals in the final two UCL matches of the season were crucial to Los Blancos again winning the title.
Benz thrived with Carlo as manager as the French striker scored 32 league goals in the two seasons with the Italian manager in charge. Dries Mertens had a great season along with Lorenzo Insigne up top as the two combined for 46 goals in league play.
However, the dropoff to the depth strikers was astounding. Thus, adding Benzema would be a smart move for Napoli.
As for Borja Mayoral, I don’t understand why Carlo is so intrigued by the Spanish youngster. While he did score seven goals playing just 927 minutes, we saw that the 21-year-old struggled to create chances by himself.
I would be okay to see both Borja and Karim leave as they have proven to not be of the high caliber Madrid fans expect. However, I think Achraf should be a priority to keep. He has shown that he is a very good depth player and with a little more time with the first-team, he can one day be the replacement for Dani Carvajal.
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While Carlo Ancelotti may be able to pick one of these players from Madrid, there is simply no way all three leave. I think the most likely departure is Borja followed by Benz.
I hope the board and coaching staff recognize how good of a player Achraf is and can be in the future. In short, keep your hands off our players Carlo!