Conte mentions Milan in assessment of Napoli’s squad: “Brought in half a team”

The mind games have already begun ahead of AC Milan vs. Napoli at the weekend, with Antonio Conte suggesting Massimiliano Allegri has a better squad.

Napoli survived a bit of a scare to eventually beat Pisa 3-2 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona last night and continue their perfect start to the season in Serie A. They now have four wins from four, and it sets things up beautifully for the game at the weekend.

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Allegri’s Milan are on a bit of a roll themselves with three wins on the spin in which they did not concede a goal. The mission on Sunday at San Siro outlines itself: win to go above the champions and possibly into first place, depending on Juventus.

‘A squad that didn’t exist before’

After beating newly-promoted Pisa last night, Conte spoke to DAZN and – as he so often has in his managerial career – he chose to try and highlight how good a job he is doing. MilanNews relayed his comments.

“Starting with four wins is never easy for anyone, but having done so gives us satisfaction. I heard people talking about the squad issue earlier: I’m reiterating that we did that mercato because we had to fill a squad that didn’t exist before. Whether it’s a significant transfer or not is up for debate.

“We’ve brought in players from other clubs, they need time, I already said that in the press conference. This will be the most complicated year for us ever because, unlike other teams who have already played in the Champions League and already had a squad, we find ourselves with a lot of players who need to gain experience.

“That’s why we need patience, understanding, and waiting for these guys to grow because we can’t always play with the same eleven. We’re taking risks along the way. If you bring in nine players, it means you’ve brought in half a team, so you’ll encounter difficulties, especially because you have the Scudetto on your shirt.

“We’re looking at the path forward. We’ve already secured 12 points, and that’s important. It’s important to have started off on the right foot. We also know full well that Milan have the structure of a team that were in the Champions League last year.

“Those who made the Champions League or Europa League have already established squads, something Napoli didn’t have. I repeat: we’ve signed nine players, and everything depends on the growth of these guys who arrived from other clubs.

“We’ll need to be calm and patient if they make mistakes. When I hear people say ‘big transfer window,’ I reply, ‘big only in terms of numbers.’ Taking the average of nine signings, if you spend €150m, that’s €15-20m per player.

“Top players cost different amounts, between €50-70m. This applies to all the players who have arrived from other clubs. We’ve brought in players who need time, and there’s no time, so we’ve taken a lot of risks. Hojlund is young and didn’t play at Manchester United.

“This will be the most complicated year for us; many of the players we’ve bought still need to gain experience. You need to be understanding and know how to wait.”