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NAPLES, ITALY – MAY 11: Vincenzo Italiano Bologna FC 1909 head coach greets Antonio Conte SSC Napoli head coach before the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Bologna FC 1909 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on May 11, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
The latest updates in Italy claim that Vincenzo Italiano, rather than Massimiliano Allegri, is currently the leading candidate to replace Antonio Conte as head coach of Napoli after a series of meetings with the Partenopei management on Tuesday.
Why Italiano leads Allegri in race to replace Conte at Napoli
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Napoli and President Aurelio De Laurentiis are on the hunt for a new coach to replace Conte, who left his role at the end of the 2025-26 season, one year after leading the club to its fourth Scudetto.
Maurizio Sarri was among the initial frontrunners to take over the Napoli head coach job, but he is now all set to reunite with Cristiano Giuntoli at Atalanta instead.
Napoli’s focus has since turned to Italiano and Allegri, and reports this morning confirmed that there would be a series of talks between the Napoli management and the representatives of the head coaches on Tuesday.
According to the latest updates from the likes of Gianluca Di Marzio, Sky Sport Italia and Calciomercato.com, Italiano has emerged as the frontrunner for the Napoli job after Tuesday’s round of talks.
Italiano has one year remaining on his current contract with Bologna, and he will reportedly meet with the Rossoblu management in the coming days in order to discuss the possibility of ending his contract ahead of schedule. The latest updates claim that Italiano will meet with Bologna directors on Thursday.
As for Allegri, Calciomercato reports that he, like Italiano, would be prepared to accept a two-year contract with the option for a third season at Napoli. However, De Laurentiis is reportedly put off by Allegri’s disastrous Milan exit and the fact that he was earning around twice as much as Italiano does at Bologna on his San Siro contract: €3m per season compared to around €6m.
ByPeter Young
Peter Young is a Senior Reporter with Football Italia.
