As West Ham United midfielder Soungoutou Magassa catches the eye of Napoli, Jose Mourinho could not resist a dig at Antonio Conte in the build up to Wednesday’s Champions League clash in Lisbon.
Mourinho’s Benfica host Conte’s Napoli at the Estadio da Luz. Two former Serie A champions going head-to-head. Two managers never afraid of wearing their heart on their sleeves and riding into war against their employers under the glare of the media spotlight.
“He is very demanding in the transfer market,” Mourinho quipped, and not without justification.
Daniel Levy, Conte’s chairman at Tottenham Hotspur, will know exactly what Mourinho meant. So too will Aurelio de Laurentiis, the Napoli president whose patience has been tested to the limits by a man who could be given the world and then demand the moon be included too as part of the package.
Conte has set his sights on Soungoutou Magassa of West Ham United ahead of the January transfer window, according to Il Mattino.
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Napoli are keen on the West Ham midfielder
Napoli are in the midst of a midfield injury crisis. As a result, the name of Soungoutou Magassa features highly on a franticly drawn-up shortlist.
Tuttomercatoweb backed up those claims on Wednesday. Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka, Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini and Manchester United misfit Kobbie Mainoo are also under consideration.
Antonio Conte speaks out again as Napoli eye West Ham United’s Soungoutou Magassa
In recent weeks, Napoli lost Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa to a serious thigh injury. Billy Gilmour, the Scotland international formerly of Brighton, is also unavailable.
Conte said a fortnight ago that, with the absences of Anguissa and Gilmour, Stanislav Lobotka and Scott McTominay were his only remaining central midfielders. Well, as luck would have it, Lobotka is the latest to be struck down by that injury curse.
Not that this has held the reigning Italian champions back though. Conte has masterminded successive wins over Roma and Juventus, moving level on points at the top with AC Milan as a result.
“McTominay, like everyone else, is doing something important, something extraordinary in terms of understanding the situation,” Conte tells DAZN. “This is evident in all the players.
“[Converted winger Eljif] Elmas had a great performance in midfield. It was his first time in that role. It’s hard to find the words. We played against Atalanta, Roma, and Juventus [and took nine points out of nine].”
Still, a terrific series of wins against potential title rivals is unlikely to cool Conte’s demands for January signings.
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Tuttomercatoweb add that De Laurentiis is willing to back his ever-demanding head coach with ‘substantial’ investment, with Conte allowed to channel his inner Veruca Salt or Dudley Dursley.
“No one is back [from injury],” Conte added. “Luckily, Lobotka didn’t have any problems with his soleus, just his tibialis anterior. We’re estimating 10 to 15 days for him to recover. It could have been worse, but this year is a bit unusual.
“However, we’re finding solutions in these difficult times, and the credit goes to our players. There’s a desire to stick together in this time of emergency.”
Jarrod Bowen was ‘delighted’ when Magassa scored at Manchester United
Only five months into his Premier League career though, Soungoutou Magassa seems determined to stay in East London and continue building upon the foundations he laid down in that 1-1 draw away to Manchester United.
Jarrod Bowen helped Magassa open his Hammers account at Old Trafford, on what was a real coming-of-age evening for the France Under-21 international.
“I was gutted that it didn’t go in, but to then see Soungou there and put the ball into the back of the net, I’m so delighted,” Bowen said, Magassa following up after Noussair Mazraoui had cleared his flick off the line.
“I’m sure it has been frustrating for him. He wants to play more but he comes into training every day with a smile on his face. His English is getting better, and his quality on the pitch is improving.
“He is coming to a new club, a new country, new teammates, new league, so for me and the team it is good to support him, put our arm around him and help when he needs us to. And he just shows his quality on the pitch.”
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