Raffaele Delli Gatti is a calcio fanatic that lives in the United States and who writes about all things Serie A and Azzurri related for sites such as ItalianFootballDaily.com. His most memorable moment will always be watching the National Team win the World Cup back in 2006, his all time favorite player is Fabio Cannavaro and he has an incurable taste for Mario Balotelli’s antics, both off and on the pitch.
There has been speculation lately that Napoli could decide to sell one of their top players; Marek Hamsik this upcoming summer. Hamsik has struggled this season under new coach Rafa Benitez and has also been plagued with injuries. Hamsik still could fetch a nice amount of money in return for Napoli should they decide to sell him, but if they hold on to him and his play continues to diminish, so will his price.
At the beginning of the season Hamsik stated that he wants to stay at Napoli and win there, but reports have come out since then that he is considering a move away from Naples. Several big clubs throughout Europe have been linked to Hamsik. But if he were to leave Napoli, where would his best fit be?
For me, Hamsik’s best fit would be with Inter. Many people would say that Inter already has Hernanes, a similar player. Yes, while Hernanes and Hamsik are similar, they are also different at the same time. Hernanes could play a bit deeper in the midfield, while Hamsik could be their attacking midfielder. It also never could hurt to have two players on the same team that have the talent that these players have.
One obvious reason why Hamsik would be a good fit at Inter is he would be reunited with his former coach Walter Mazzarri. Mazzarri knows him very well and he fits into his playing style. Mazzarri could use another player at Inter that he can rely on and trust. Hugo Campagnaro followed Mazzarri to Inter this past summer, it wouldn’t hurt to have another former player. By joining Inter, Hamsik would stay in Serie A, a league he is familiar with and comfortable playing in. He’s proven he could be a top player in Serie A, arguably the toughest league for an offensive type player.
There’s been a lot of talk about a rocky relationship between Mazzarri and new Inter president Thohir and while both say all is fine; where there is smoke, there is fire. I believe Mazzarri is the right coach for Inter and he should continue to be their coach next season. If Mazzarri gets Inter into the Europa League for next season, for me, that makes this season a bit of a success. No one expected for Inter to compete for a Champions League spot this season, so qualifying for the Europa League is a success. One way to keep Mazzarri happy and help smooth over the relationship would be to deliver him Hamsik. Thohir says he wants to pursue players that help the team and also help with marketing. While Hamsik isn’t a huge name in the world of football, he is known and certainly a big name and popular player within Italy.
The plan for Inter is to get back to competing for the scudetto and playing in the Champions League, in order to do that, you need top players and depth. Assuming Inter does qualify for the Europa League next season, they will need more depth. Hamsik would provide added depth for Mazzarri.
I’m not insinuating that I think Hamsik is on the decline, but perhaps a change of scenery can help shake things up for him and get him going again. The Napoli team he plays on now has a lot of new players compared to the Napoli teams he was playing on just a few years ago. He is the last of the “Big 3” at Napoli which included Cavani and Lavezzi. Together those three helped Napoli become a bigger and more competitive club in Italy and Europe. Hamsik has given a lot to Napoli and the city of Naples. Perhaps, just perhaps the best thing for him to do is leave now and start a new journey.
Do you agree with Raffaele? Discuss below in the comments section or connect with him on Twitter: @ItalianoCalcio
