Agent Accuses Antonio Conte Of Holding His Napoli Players ‘Hostage’ In Furious Barb

An agent has brutally accused Antonio Conte of holding several of his Napoli players ‘hostage’.

Antonio Conte Criticised For Not Playing Youngsters

Mario Giuffredi, representative of captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Matteo Politano, among others, has directly hit out at Conte for lacking the courage to play youngsters, particularly his clients.

Giuffredi also represents young trio Luca Marianucci, Antonio Vergara and Giuseppe Ambrosino, and believes they should have been given opportunities during Napoli’s worsening injury crisis.

Vergara started against Sassuolo and Copenhagen, but Conte has been reluctant to use his full squad.

“It’s just shockingly ridiculous,” Giuffredi told Calcio Napoli 24 in an interview earlier this week. “If Conte lacks the courage to use young players, that is not my problem.

“Allegri plays Bartesaghi, who was in the Under-23 side that got relegated, at Milan. Bernasconi played for the Atalanta Under-23 team, and he starts with both Juric and Palladino as coach.

“Francesco Pio Esposito plays regularly for Inter.

“Gasperini picked a player born in 2009 like Arena, who a year ago was in Serie C.”

He then urged Conte to decide whether Marianucci and Ambrosino both have a future in Naples.

“If they [do], then he must have the courage to actually use them,” Giuffredi added.

“That does not mean a few minutes every 10 years. Otherwise, just say they don’t belong at Napoli, and let them prove themselves elsewhere.

“He cannot just continue to keep them hostage. We already had an agreement in place with Cremonese and Venezia for these players, but for the last month, this man has refused to let the players go.

“If he keeps them here and then doesn’t even give them a minute on the field, then what is it for?”

‘His Reasoning Is Unrealistic’

While Vergara has been handed opportunities in recent weeks with Noa Lang to join Galatasaray, Marianucci and Ambrosino have been unable to break into Conte’s starting XI.

The former has played just 118 minutes in Serie A this season and did not appear during the Supercoppa Italiana. Ambrosino, meanwhile, has made five appearances, albeit largely from the bench.

In response, a raging Giuffredi declared that Conte’s justification for not playing the duo was ‘unrealistic’.

However, with the Partenopei’s transfer business restricted due to dire finances, the club may well prefer to keep the majority of their squad, including those on the fringes, instead of splashing the cash.