De Laurentiis considers Luis Enrique the ideal replacement for Spalletti

Former Spain coach Luis Enrique remains the leading candidate to replace Luciano Spalletti at Napoli this summer. The 53-year-old, a former Real Madrid and Barcelona player, left the Spain job after the 2022 World Cup and has been linked with Premier League club Tottenham Hotpsur and Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

Il Corriere dello Sport report that Enrique is also the favourite to replace Spalletti this summer, with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis having prepared a lucrative contract for Spaniard. The report claims that De Laurentiis is ‘desperate’ to convince Enrique to take over the role and a two year contract worth close to €10 million is being prepared for the coach, with the Italian growth decree helping Napoli with the financial aspect.

With Spalletti set to leave Naples this summer, Il Corriere write:

‘Luis Enrique is an influential exponent of Catalan modernism, one of the iconic figures of this football, he has a career that speaks for itself, and therefore a technical heritage that intrigues and fascinates: Napoli have thought about it, and consider the Asturian the ideal successor to absorb Spalletti’s separation, reflected on his passion for the trident, his cheeky nature, even on the economic aspects, not at all irrelevant. They’ve placed him at the top of the list, aware of the difficulties, the brutal dynamics of the market and the competition on the horizon. Luis Enrique was, and remains, the ideal candidate to start again from the 4-3-3 formation, to feel always inside a Project of European depth, to face that possible climate of anxiety that can generate a technical revolution: and with him, De Laurentiis would launch himself into a new challenge reminiscent of previous ones.”