b&w & read all over 
04-04-2024 08:04
04-04-2024 08:04
Reports: Giovanni Manna set to join Napoli as their new sporting director
As we waited ... and waited ... and waited for Cristiano Giuntoli to officially be released from his contract with Napoli last summer, there was one man leading the way when it comes to the beginnings of the transfer window: Giovanni Manna, one of the few holdovers in Juventus’ new look-front office.
As Giuntoli has adjusted to life at Juve and realized the scope of what needs to be done to get things back on track, Manna has been right there with him. He has been the consigliere to Giuntoli’s sporting area, with the two of them set to embark on a very important summer on the transfer market.
Yeah ... about that.
Reports out of Italy on Tuesday and Wednesday state that the 35-year-old Manna has agreed to terms on a five-year deal to become the new sporting director at Napoli. Yep, you read that right — Manna, who has been working with Giuntoli the last nine months will now be heading to the club in which his direct boss helped construct last season’s Scudetto-winning side (and also worked for one of the more volatile owners in all of Serie A).
According to Goal Italia’s Romeo Agresti, Giuntoli is already considering a pair of replacements as a result of Manna’s departure. They are: Giuseppe Pompilio — who is set to see his contract at Napoli expire — and current Pisa sporting director Stefano Stefanelli, who has previously worked with Giuntoli at the club.
Agresti says Juve will also look to bring in a new head scout this summer.
Giovanni #Manna, attualmente ds della #Juventus, è a un passo dal #Napoli: c’è un contratto di cinque anni che va semplicemente firmato e depositato. — Giovanni Albanese (@GiovaAlbanese) April 2, 2024
Manna’s departure will obviously leave a void that needs to be filled at Juventus. But it also will mean that Giuntoli will almost certainly continue to construct the Juve front office on the sporting side in his vision, bringing in people that he’s worked with before at Napoli or Pisa. And like Agresti says, Juve’s scouting area will be another point of emphasis — especially considering the financial strain the club is currently under.
But there’s no doubting that Manna leaving is a blow to Juventus.
Manna arrived at Juve in 2019 and played a big role in a lot of the current youngsters in the senior squad joining the Next Gen program. The names that a lot of us establish themselves as Juventus players over the next couple of years were brought to Turin by the efforts made by Manna. Those players, most of them signed from outside of Italy, helped play a big part in the Next Gen squad producing the kind of talent that it did the last couple of years.
As Juve waited for Giuntoli to arrive this summer, Manna is also credited with negotiating the Dejan Kulusevski deal with Tottenham, negotiating Arek Milik’s permanent move with Juventus and also the signing of Juve’s lone summer arrival in 2023, Timothy Weah from Lille.
As Giuntoli has adjusted to life at Juve and realized the scope of what needs to be done to get things back on track, Manna has been right there with him. He has been the consigliere to Giuntoli’s sporting area, with the two of them set to embark on a very important summer on the transfer market.
Yeah ... about that.
Reports out of Italy on Tuesday and Wednesday state that the 35-year-old Manna has agreed to terms on a five-year deal to become the new sporting director at Napoli. Yep, you read that right — Manna, who has been working with Giuntoli the last nine months will now be heading to the club in which his direct boss helped construct last season’s Scudetto-winning side (and also worked for one of the more volatile owners in all of Serie A).
According to Goal Italia’s Romeo Agresti, Giuntoli is already considering a pair of replacements as a result of Manna’s departure. They are: Giuseppe Pompilio — who is set to see his contract at Napoli expire — and current Pisa sporting director Stefano Stefanelli, who has previously worked with Giuntoli at the club.
Agresti says Juve will also look to bring in a new head scout this summer.
Giovanni #Manna, attualmente ds della #Juventus, è a un passo dal #Napoli: c’è un contratto di cinque anni che va semplicemente firmato e depositato. — Giovanni Albanese (@GiovaAlbanese) April 2, 2024
Manna’s departure will obviously leave a void that needs to be filled at Juventus. But it also will mean that Giuntoli will almost certainly continue to construct the Juve front office on the sporting side in his vision, bringing in people that he’s worked with before at Napoli or Pisa. And like Agresti says, Juve’s scouting area will be another point of emphasis — especially considering the financial strain the club is currently under.
But there’s no doubting that Manna leaving is a blow to Juventus.
Manna arrived at Juve in 2019 and played a big role in a lot of the current youngsters in the senior squad joining the Next Gen program. The names that a lot of us establish themselves as Juventus players over the next couple of years were brought to Turin by the efforts made by Manna. Those players, most of them signed from outside of Italy, helped play a big part in the Next Gen squad producing the kind of talent that it did the last couple of years.
As Juve waited for Giuntoli to arrive this summer, Manna is also credited with negotiating the Dejan Kulusevski deal with Tottenham, negotiating Arek Milik’s permanent move with Juventus and also the signing of Juve’s lone summer arrival in 2023, Timothy Weah from Lille.