De Laurentiis continues Conte courtship with Mazzarri under fire 

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis is reportedly still dreaming of appointing Antonio Conte in the future, but chances of the former Juventus and Italy coach taking over at the Stadio Maradona this season are relatively slim. 

Napoli currently find themselves in 9th place in Serie A at the half-way stage, five points off Bologna in fourth and 11 points shy of Milan in third. For reference, the Partenopei were 12 points clear at the top of the division with 50 points at the same point last season. 

Then, on Saturday, Napoli were dealt a reality check by Torino, who delivered a 3-0 blow in Serie A on Sunday night. 

Napoli have already made a series of managerial changes this season, having replaced Scudetto-winning Luciano Spalletti with Rudi Garcia in the summer. 

Garcia’s reign lasted just a few months before he was dismissed after 16 matches in all competitions with a record of eight wins, four draws and four losses. 

Napoli’s fortunes have not improved since the appointment of Mazzarri in November, and now there are calls for yet another change in the dugout. 

Antonio Conte was in attendance for Sunday’s match against Torino as his family home is just around the corner from the stadium. He has also been to watch his former club Juventus on a number of occasions. 

However, fans felt they had received a positive update from Conte, as he admitted that a move to Napoli: “Can be done, but I want things to be done properly.” 

Reports from Calciomercato.com on Monday suggest that De Laurentiis would still love to have Conte on board at some stage in the future, however the suggestion is that he is unlikely to take over mid-way through the season with Napoli in such a precarious position. 

Napoli would first need to steady the ship, get a run of positive results together and finish the campaign towards the top end of Serie A, ideally with a spot in the Champions League. 

Only then would De Laurentiis realistically be able to convince Conte to come on board according to Monday’s update.