Napoli assistant Cristian Stellini urged the club’s hierarchy to bring in new players during the January transfer window following the injuries to Amir Rrahmani and Matteo Politano.
Stellini’s comments followed Napoli’s 1-0 win over Sassuolo on Saturday, a match settled by Stanislav Lobotka’s first Serie A goal in 1,251 days.
Napoli (21 – W15 D6) are now unbeaten in more than twenty consecutive home games in the top flight for the fifth time in their history, and the first since a match between August 2015 and September 2016.
But the victory, which took Antonio Conte’s side to within six points of leaders Inter in the table, was overshadowed when both Rrahmani and Politano suffered separate problems.
Rrahmani was replaced by Alessandro Buongiorno in the 67th minute due to an apparent muscle problem, while Politano picked up his hamstring but had to continue as Napoli had made all their changes.
“Elmas felt dizzy, it was probably due to flu symptoms, so it was not an injury, but we will have evaluations for Politano and Rrahmani in the coming days,” Stellini told DAZN Italia.
“We are both happy with the victory, thanks to a team that continues to play in a difficult situation, but we don’t know how long we can keep this up.
“We don’t have many players left and the fixture list is full. I think Napoli is the only team with nine games left to play in January.”
“The fixture list was poorly drawn up, it cannot be that there were nine matches in 28 days in the Supercoppa Italiana.
“We don’t have many players, so we definitely have to discuss this with the club. We probably need new players right away.”
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It adds to Napoli’s already extensive injury list, with the likes of David Neres, Kevin De Bruyne, Frank Anguissa, Romelu Lukaku, Billy Gilmour and Alex Meret all unavailable.
Napoli also handed academy product Antonio Vergara his first Serie A start the day after his 23rd birthday before he was replaced by Pasquale Mazzocchi.
But Stellini’s call for reinforcements comes ahead of a busy period for Napoli, who have four games in all competitions in 11 days until the first month of 2026.
They take on FC Copenhagen in their penultimate Champions League fixture before returning to Serie A action against Juventus on January 25.
“We need more to strengthen the numbers, otherwise we have to delve into youth training,” Stellini added about the situation.
“We have enough in defense, but in midfield and attack we are not running at all.
“We are waiting for the return of David Neres soon, but we are not sure when the others will be back. We need players, the coach and the club will evaluate it.”
“There is fear because there are so many competitions. It is purely about the numbers, not about the choices that have to be made. Something has to be done, it is planned.”
“We know that the January transfer window is not easy to work in, but there are some interventions that need to be made.”
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