Napoli and Conte stand as a rare point of continuity before Serie A restart

It did not take long after Napoli had won Serie A in May for some journalists to ask whether their manager would desert them. Antonio Conte had grumbled for months about transfer decisions. Even in this moment of triumph, his body language around the owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, remained frosty.

Recent history hung over Napoli. Luciano Spalletti stepped down after leading the Partenopei to a Scudetto in 2023, riding off into the sunset in his newly pimped out Fiat Panda and citing a “personality clash” with De Laurentiis. But Conte is his own man with his own imperatives. Three months later, he stands as a rare point of continuity in a league determined to eschew it. Twelve of 20 clubs have changed manager – a drop, admittedly, from 14 last summer – including six of the top eight finishers.

Does stability breed success? If so, Napoli should begin as clear favourites. No starters have departed, and Kevin De Bruyne has arrived – a symbol of raised ambitions for a team chasing its third domestic title in four years. Incorporating him will require thought and likely some adjustment to last season’s 4-3-3, but should lend variety to a side that over-relied on Scott McTominay down the stretch. Nor is De Bruyne the only new arrival. Napoli have added centre-back Sam Beukema from Bologna and the Netherlands international Noa Lang on the wing. Romelu Lukaku will miss the start of the season with a hamstring injury, but that at least will give the 6ft 7ins striker Lorenzo Lucca a chance to prove his worth after joining from Udinese.

Who will challenge them? Inter remain the most likely contenders, even after a humiliating end to the last campaign, when they spiralled from chasing four trophies to winning none and getting trounced in the Champions League final. They have lost no starters from a squad widely perceived as the most talented in Italy and added interesting young talents. Wide forward Ange-Yoan Bonny has an eye-catching combination of size and acceleration. Midfielder Petar Sucic is an established Croatia international at 21 years old. Signing Luis Henrique from Ligue 1, right after having dreams crushed by Luis Enrique from Ligue 1, is poetic perfection.

The big question is whether Cristian Chivu is the right man to lead Inter. Hired in a hurry after Simone Inzaghi left for Al-Hilal, he barely had time to get to know his players before the Club World Cup, where the Nerazzurri exited to Fluminense in the first knockout round. Chivu arrived with plenty of goodwill, having won three league titles at Inter as a player – the last of those as part of the 2010 treble. But his prior managerial experience is limited to 13 games at Parma. Is the Romanian the right man to restore purpose and cohesion to a demoralised changing room? For now, any judgment feels like a guess.

Who else might challenge? Atalanta finished third but their manager of the last nine years, Gian Piero Gasperini, has left for Roma, bringing down the curtain on the most successful chapter in club history. His replacement, Ivan Juric, worked under Gasperini as a player then assistant, potentially equipping him to move forward with similar tactical ideas. But he inherits a team that sold Capocannoniere Mateo Retegui and may yet lose Ademola Lookman. That pair scored more than half of the team’s 78 league goals last season.

View image in fullscreen How will Inter, under new head coach Cristian Chivu, perform after losing the Champions League final to Paris Saint-Germain? Photograph: Anna Szilágyi/EPA

Gasperini’s new project at Roma fascinates. Can he establish the same front-footed principles that made Atalanta into Europa League winners and regular Champions League qualifiers? Despite a fine for breaching Financial Fair Play rules, Roma have made moves. The most intriguing capture might be the Brazilian right-back Wesley from Flamengo. But there is curiosity, too, around loan signings Evan Ferguson and Leon Bailey from Premier League clubs, each in need of a fresh start.

Juventus were the other top-eight side, besides Napoli, to retain their manager, albeit the long delay before confirming Igor Tudor hardly made it seem like a confident choice. Despite a low-key transfer session, there are reasons to believe they might surprise. A team who fielded the second-youngest XIs in Serie A last season will have another year of experience under their belts, as well as Bremer, possibly the best centre-back in the division, back from injury. Juventus are not favourites, but Tudor has said he will not content himself with aiming for third or fourth.

What of Milan? Massimiliano Allegri is back, 14 years after leading the Rossoneri to a Serie A title. Luka Modric has joined, 22 years after his professional debut. Can the Croatian author one more memorable chapter? Tijjani Reijnders and Theo Hernández are gone, and Rafael Leão picked up an injury in last week’s cup win over Bari, but there were encouraging signs in that performance. A lack of European football may benefit them.

Could a different club surprise? Como signalled their ambition as they refused to entertain Inter’s approach for manager Cesc Fàbregas. They have spent €100m in this transfer window, adding a wealth of young talent, including Jesús Rodríguez from Real Betis and Martin Baturina from Dinamo Zagreb.

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View image in fullscreen Milan’s hopes for the season centre on Rafael Leão, who scored against Bari in the cup but also picked up an injury. Photograph: Marco Canoniero/Shutterstock

Bologna need to fill gaps left by Beukema and Dan Ndoye, much as they did Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee a year ago. Fiorentina appeared to be on the right path last season, but will their progress be derailed by the resignation of manager Raffaele Palladino, replaced by the returning Stefano Pioli? Lazio, too, turned to a familiar face in Maurizio Sarri, but a transfer embargo has prevented them from restructuring the squad to fit his vision.

Of the promoted sides, Fabio Grosso’s Sassuolo look best equipped to fight relegation, with Armand Laurienté and Domenico Berardi proven commodities in the attack. Andrea Pinamonti is back for now, too, after hitting double figures on loan at Genoa. Pisa were promoted playing fast-break football under Filippo Inzaghi but appear to be adapting towards a possession game with their new manager Alberto Gilardino. Cremonese have hired survival specialist Davide Nicola.

Verona may be drawn into the battle after another transfer window of flogging their most promising young players, this time the centre-backs Diego Coppola and Daniele Ghilardi. Parma, too, have been stripped of assets, including Bonny, Simon Sohm and Dennis Man – not to mention Chivu. Lecce hope signing the 17-year-old Francesco Camarda on loan from Milan may bolster an attack that scored a league-worst 27 goals last season. Cagliari have promoted academy coach – and former Guardian footballer of the year – Fabio Pisacane to lead their first team, his first senior management role.

Above them is a familiar group of teams looking to push on from midtable. Kosta Runjaic impressed in his debut Serie A season as manager of Udinese, but has lost starters Lucca, Jaka Bijol and Florian Thauvin. Torino hired Marco Baroni, who finished seventh with Lazio, and have supplied him with new forward talent, but there are questions about balance in midfield. Genoa showed marked improvement under Patrick Vieira but have undergone significant squad turnover.

This feels like another season that begins with more question marks than certainties. That has been the way of things lately in a league where no team has successfully defended a Scudetto for five years. Now Napoli, a club who had only won the league twice in their history before this decade, will get another chance.

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