Napoli have never won back-to-back Serie A titles but the 2025-26 season is their best opportunity yet. Antonio Conte is staying, other title contenders have had managerial changes and Napoli have brought in key signings. Let’s take a closer look.

Sam Beukema – €31m from Bologna

The 2025 Coppa Italia winner played 35 league games for Bologna last season, starting 33 of them. Beukema helped his team to 11 clean sheets in that time with some impressive individual stats. He won 60% of his duels and averaged three clearances and four ball recoveries per game.

The Netherlands international had a wonderful season with AZ Alkmaar in 2022-23, helping them reach the Europa Conference League final before earning a move to Serie A. Once in Italy he quickly became a fixture in the Bologna team, comfortable in the centre or on the right, and helped them qualify for the Champions League, ending a 60-year absence from Europe’s top table.

At just 26 this is a smart move for the short and medium term for Napoli. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, the club captain and right-back, is 32. Other players in the backline such as Leonardo Spinazzola, Amir Rrahmani and Juan Jesus are all in their 30s too. Beukema is a welcome addition who can bring quality, stability and flexibility to the defence. He shows great leadership on the pitch and his recent track record shows that he helps teams to be successful.

Noa Lang – €25m from PSV Eindhoven

Formerly of Ajax and Club Brugge, Lang bolsters the attack after arriving from PSV Eindhoven. He has just turned 26 and last season won the fifth league title of his career. Will Napoli be the fourth club he wins a trophy with?

Lang is a tricky winger, usually operates on the left and likes cutting inside on his dangerous right foot in search of goals and assists. He is another replacement in the Khvicha Kvaratskhelia position, but he will not be expected to do the same amount of individual damage as the Georgia international, who was sold to PSG last season after being Napoli’s most creative player for two years. Lang, perhaps like David Neres last season, will be expected to contribute but by no means carry this team.

Lang was named Belgian Young Footballer of the year at Club Brugge before earning a move back to Holland with PSV. He had six goal contributions in the last six games of 2024-25 including a 99th-minute winner against rivals Feyenoord away from home. Lang also provided two goals and two assists in eight Champions League starts last season. With two amazing seasons at PSV under his belt, where he won back-to-back Dutch titles, he is ready for the next step.

Vanja Milinkovic-Savic – Loan from Torino with obligation to buy for €21m

Goalkeeper Milinkovic-Savic, the 28 year-old Serb, joins with plenty of pedigree after more than 150 games for Torino. Last season he made the most saves in Serie A, has represented his country 19 times and has played at the World Cup.

He joins on loan but Napoli have agreed to his transfer with the fee to be paid over the next four years. Milinkovic-Savic will battle Alex Meret to become Conte’s first choice, but with two top-level goalkeepers and a return to Champions League football ahead, the manager may well decide to rotate.

Milinkovic-Savic comes from an incredibly sporting family. He was born in Spain when his father, Nikola, was playing professional football there in the late 90s. His brother is the Al-Hilal midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, also a Serbia international, and his sister Jana plays for the basketball national team. His mother Milana was a professional basketball player too.

Lorenzo Lucca – Loan from Udinese for €9m with obligation to buy for €26m

Napoli’s newest striker, 24 year-old Lucca is 6ft 7in tall and full of goals. He scored 23 in 75 games for Udinese across the last two seasons.

The Italian made the headlines in February this year, taking a penalty off his club captain Florian Thauvin to score the only goal of the game at Lecce. It was an unpopular move and led to his substitution shortly after but if that story told us anything, it is that the selfishness needed to be a striker is there. It is now Conte’s job to manage that.

Lucca had spells with Palermo and Pisa, became Ajax’s first Italian player before his stint with Udinese and since 2024 he has made five international appearances for Italy. While he won’t kick Romelu Lukaku out of the Napoli starting XI he can provide competition and will certainly get plenty of minutes as they fight for the league, cup and, of course, the Champions League.

Kevin De Bruyne – Free transfer after leaving Manchester City

De Bruyne is the marquee signing for Napoli and Serie A, even at 34 years old. The Belgian is one of the best midfielders of his generation, won the Premier League six times with Manchester City and scored 31 goals in 111 international appearances. As for individual awards, there are too many to mention.

De Bruyne can take some of the heat off his new midfield partner Scott McTominay. The Scotland international was the Serie A Player of the Year last season, and had he not popped up with big goals in key moments Napoli simply would not have won the league. De Bruyne is still a world-class force and will be expected to provide goals and assists for this team.

He adds a creative punch to the middle of the park that Napoli have been missing, even with the success of last season. When they won the title in 2022-23 they were heavily reliant on Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen. We all know how poor they were the following season and last year only Lukaku (10) managed more than four assists.

De Bruyne’s presence in the half-spaces and on set-pieces will be crucial. He is technically superior to most and still has the hunger to play at the top level and win trophies, hence his move to Naples over a gargantuan pay-day in the Middle East.

So, a successful summer then?

The proof will be in the pudding. Can Conte bed these new signings into the squad? Will De Bruyne stay fit? Will this team have the depth to compete domestically and in Europe?

If Napoli win back-to-back titles for the first time in their history then this season might be considered their best of all time. No pressure then. Conte’s men are in a great position after managerial changes at Inter, Juventus and elsewhere means all of their title rivals are starting new projects.

Napoli are back in the Champions League but having no European football last term certainly helped. It meant fewer minutes and injury risks and more time on the training pitch before crucial league games.

This season will be a lot more demanding but the club have not been slacking in the summer window. It seems like Napoli have added great depth and plugged gaps without overpaying for anybody. Time will tell if this translates to more success.