Despite winning the title after three decades of waiting, Napoli fans’ expectations for the current season weren’t high. This was mainly due to Luciano Spalletti’s departure and the lack of significant reinforcements. Few believed that Napoli could defend their title, and not only did that not happen, but the club from southern Italy also failed to secure a spot in Europe. With one round left in Serie A, Napoli sits in tenth place on the table, with a chance to move up one spot. Rui Garcia, Walter Mazzarri, and Francesco Calzona each managed the team for roughly a third of the Serie A matches, collectively achieving only 13 victories. The most successful was the Frenchman with eight wins, but that’s not particularly significant. Napoli is once again in search of a strategist, a task primarily undertaken by President Aurelio De Laurentiis, who is traditionally difficult to work with and was the main reason Spalletti left the club (he made the decision to leave before being called by the Italian Football Federation to become the national team coach).De Laurentis is currently engaged in new negotiations, aiming to bring in a figure that would appease the disgruntled fans and help Napoli reclaim its position among the leading Italian clubs. According to Italian media reports, three managers are in focus: Gian Piero Gasperini, Antonio Conte, and Stefano Pioli. Although Conte, a long-standing desire of Napoli’s president, was previously considered the future coach, in recent days, the experienced Gasperini has taken the spotlight. As strange as it may sound, winning the Europa League with Atalanta could potentially strain his relationship with President Antonio Percassi, as the 66-year-old coach demands a new three-year contract along with significant reinforcement of the squad, while the club offers cooperation until 2026, without showing great ambitions in the player market.Napoli’s ‘indecent proposal’ to ConteItalian media suggest that a new round of negotiations between Gasperini and Percassi will take place over the weekend, but De Laurentis is reportedly unwilling to wait long. Allegedly, an agreement is imminent in Bergamo, prompting De Laurentis to turn to Conte again in the south. Well-informed Sky journalist Gianluca Di Marzio writes that the former coach is ready to reduce his financial demands. Initially, a salary of 6.5 million euros per season was mentioned, which would make him the highest-paid coach in Italy after Allegri’s departure from Juventus.SERIE A – (FINAL) MATCHDAY 38ThursdayCagliari – Fiorentina 2-3 (0-1)/Deiola 64, Mutandwa 85 – Bonaventura 39, Gonzalez 89, Arthur 90+13/FridayGenoa – Bologna 2-0 (1-0)/Malinovskyi 13, Vitinha 59/Saturday19:00: (1.37) Juventus (4.90) Monza (8.50)21:45: (1.20) AC Milan (7.25) Salernitana (12.0)Sunday19:00: (3.40) Atalanta (3.40) Torino (2.15)19:00: (1.48) Napoli (4.40) Lecce (6.75)21:45: (2.50) Frosinone (3.35) Udinese (2.85)21:45: (1.92) Empoli (3.50) Roma (4.00)21:45: (1.37) Lazio (5.10) Sassuolo (7.75)21:45: (5.70) Verona (4.00) Inter (1.60)***odds are subject to change***