Despite losing some key pieces from the title-winning 22/23 season, including their manager Luciano Spalletti, Napoli were able to retain Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – two of their stars from last season.
In addition, they have always been prepared to lose their key pieces by planning ahead and making necessary signings for the long term.
One such signing was Giacomo Raspadori from Sassuolo in the summer of 2022.
The visualisation below shows the numbers of the dynamic forward from the 22/23 season.
Having signed Raspadori on a one-season loan with an obligation to buy, Napoli should be exceptionally happy with the forward’s performances in his first season.
The 23-year-old, already a full Italy international, was primarily used as a substitute for the major part of last season.
Raspadori is quite flexible and can play anywhere in the front four, but having played most of his minutes as a centre-forward, Raspadori is excellent in and around the box with his subtle movement between the defenders.
He only scored two goals from an xG of 3.54, but with more time on the pitch, he should be finding the back of the next quite often this season.
Given his flexibility, Raspadori does have the vision to find his teammates at ease and hence ranked above average for several key-passing metrics last season.
Defensively, he is not hesitant to drop deep and help his teammates.
Overall, it was sensible for Napoli not just to sign Raspadori on loan but to make his deal permanent after one season.
Can he be the long-term replacement for Victor Osimhen as a centre-forward? Only time will tell, but he will be more regularly playing for Napoli this season than last time, which should answer that question.
