
Spoelstra: No need to penalize Ball any further
Erik Spoelstra supports no further penalties for LaMelo Ball after flagrant foul.
Antonio Conte is being considered for the Italy national team head coach position, prompting Napoli to identify four potential replacements. Among them are Massimiliano Allegri, Roberto Mancini, and Simone Inzaghi.
Four potential replacements for Napoli if Conte leaves to take over Italy job
Antonio Conte continues to be linked with a potential move to re-claim the Italy national team head coach job following the recent resignation of Gennaro Gattuso, and Tuesday’s reports claim that Napoli have four potential candidates lined up to replace last season’s Scudetto winner.
Conte along with Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri are the two names at the top of the list of potential replacements for Gattuso as head coach of the Italy national team. There have also been mentions of a potential return for Roberto Mancini and suggestions that ex-Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi could be an option as well.
The Conte option is picking up traction again, especially after an interview given to The Athletic by Napoli President Auurelio De Laurentiis on Tuesday.
NAPLES, ITALY – JUNE 26: Antonio Conte new SSC Napoli head coach and Aurelio De Laurentiis SSC Napoli president during SSC Napoli new manager unveiling on June 26, 2024 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
De Laurentiis claimed that Conte ‘will never abandon me at the last minute’, but urged him to decide sooner rather than later regarding his future in order to allow Napoli enough time to line up an adequate replacement.
According to reports from the Corriere dello Sport, Napoli’s ideal replacement for Conte in the event that he leaves to take over the Italy job is Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
Gasperini had also been a candidate to take over at the Stadio Maradona before Conte was given the job in the summer of 2024. His future at Roma has been put in doubt recently as well, following reports of tension between him and Giallorossi advisor Claudio Ranieri.
NAPLES, ITALY – NOVEMBER 03: Gian Piero Gasperini Atalanta head coach greets Antonio Conte Napoli head coach beforeg the Serie A match between Napoli and Atalanta at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on November 03, 2024 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
There are three other potential options for Napoli as well according to Wednesday’s reports, including Bologna’s Vincenzo Italiano, Sassuolo’s Fabio Grosso, and a potential return for former head coach Maurizio Sarri, who had the Napoli job between 2015 and 2018 and is currently in his second stint with Lazio.
The top candidates to replace Conte at Napoli include Massimiliano Allegri, Roberto Mancini, and Simone Inzaghi.
Conte is linked to the Italy national team job due to the recent resignation of Gennaro Gattuso and his previous success as head coach.
If Conte leaves Napoli, it could disrupt the team's stability and performance, requiring a new coach to adapt to the existing squad and tactics.

Erik Spoelstra supports no further penalties for LaMelo Ball after flagrant foul.
Subaru vs Hyundai: A New Rivalry at the 2026 Nürburgring 24h
See every story in Sports — including breaking news and analysis.