Napoli have left Wolverhampton Wanderers free to hire Sergio Conceicao with Partenopei president Aurelio De Laurentiis ruling the Porto manager out of contention, speaking to Mais Futebol.
You shouldn’t always believe what you read.
All reports coming out of Italy today suggested Conceicao, days after bidding an emotional farewell to his Porto players, was on the verge of taking Gennaro Gattuso’s job at the Stadio San Paolo.
The 46-year-old has also been linked with the Wolves job in the aftermath of Nuno Espirito Santo’s departure, via The Athletic.
And just as it looked as though Conceicao had moved out of Wolves’ reach, De Laurentiis has just set the rumour mill spinning once more.
“It is false,” the Napoli president said when asked about a man who led Porto to the Primeira Liga title in 2018 and 2020.
“The new Napoli coach has already been found and we will announce him within a week. I’ve never talked to Conceicao.”
Given his proven track record in Portuguese football, and an organised, disciplined style of play reminiscent of Nuno’s preferred tactical blueprint, Conceicao to Wolves was one of those rumours that simply made sense.
But the Black Country giants appear, instead, to be prioritising a man who led Benfica to domestic glory in 2019 (BBC).
Bruno Lage, unlike Conceicao, has English football experience on his CV following spells as an assistant to Carlos Carvalhal at Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City. His Benfica team were far more free-flowing and attack-minded than Conceicao’s Porto too.
Lage set a teenage Joao Felix en route to that £107 million move to Atletico Madrid and famously led Benfica to a 10-0 victory over Nacional two years ago.
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