Very few would have predicted Napoli's ascent this season; they were third in Serie A last season, finishing seven points behind Milan. They were also eliminated in the Europa League's round of 24 against Barcelona. However, at this point of the season, the Campanian club are not only likely to capture a first Scudetto since 1990; they might even be a dark-horse pick to win the Champions League for the first time in the club's history?
When analyzing what has changed so drastically as to make Napoli such a powerhouse this season, the first and most important point to note is their off-season player transactions. Napoli made major changes to their squad from last season; veterans Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne left the club on free transfers to Galatasaray and Toronto FC respectively. Napoli also sold Kalidou Koulibaly to Chelsea for €40 million and Fabián Ruiz to Paris Saint-Germain for €25 million.
With the money obtained from their player sales, Napoli went on to have probably the most productive transfer window of any club in Italy. André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who had been at the club on loan from Fulham during the previous season, became a full-time player for €15 million. Napoli's signing of Kim Min-jae from Fenerbahçe has also paid dividends, while loan acquisitions Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele have both had significantly positive impacts. And that's before even mentioning their most notable signing who merits a section of his own.
When Napoli signed Khvicha Kvaratshkelia from Dinamo Batumi in July, not many knew just what to expect. After all, Georgia has never been a country regarded as anything even close to a football hotbed. However, "Kvara" is turning out to be the exception that proves the rule. At just 21, the winger has emerged as one of world football's most promising young talents who has not even begun to scratch the surface of his immense potential. Although Kvaratshkelia has not even completed a third of a season at Napoli, he has already drawn the attention of a number of the world's leading clubs such as Real Madrid, PSG, and Manchester City.
Every player of this team fits perfectly - Napoli are truly greater than the sum of their parts. After just 11 league matches, a total of 13 players have already contributed to Napoli's league-leading 26 goals with no player having scored more than five. Additionally, no Napoli players are even close to Serie A's leading players as far as distance covered per match as well as average completed dribbles per match are concerned. Napoli's success appears to be sustainable simply because no single player has to handle too large of a burden, and this team-first roster build and general approach has clearly paid dividends.
This same idea even extends to the bench; Napoli might have the deepest bench of any club in the world right now. When one considers the fact that players on the level of Hirving Lozano, Matteo Politano, and Giovanni Simeone are not even regular starters, the reasons for Napoli's success become even clearer. Despite their relatively modest finances in comparison to the biggest, most glamorous clubs in the world, Napoli have almost as many weapons from which to choose as do those money-laden powerhouses.
Unfortunately for Napoli, the reality is that in modern-day football, success of this sort at such a club usually doesn't last. Several of those major clubs are likely to pursue and, indeed, sign one or more of their key players within the next several years. This is especially true when considering the relative youth of some of the Campanian club's key players - Kvaratshkelia is 21, Kim is 25, and Osimhen is 23. That said, for however long this core group stays together, Napoli will clearly be a team which cannot be overlooked. No one should be surprised if this season, they pair a first league title in more than three decades with the deepest Champions League in the club's history.
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