Conte: Napoli better without Cavani

Juventus manager Antonio Conte believes that Napoli will be stronger should Edinson Cavani be sold to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Uruguay forward has been linked with a move away from the Stadio San Paolo for much of the close-season, with the Ligue 1 champions PSG believed to be leading the race to sign the 26-year-old.

However, far from being a damaging blow to the club, Conte feels that it may end up being helpful for Rafael Benitez as he begins his debut season as Napoli boss.

“I think PSG paying €63million for Cavani is a gift to Napoli,” he said. “I would have preferred the ‘Matador’ to stay. With him, we normally always beat them.

“Napoli will reinvest that €63m and moreover, now they have Benitez. He has won everything as a coach and for me is underrated.”

Assessing his side’s other rivals ahead of the new season, Conte – who is looking to win Juventus’ third Scudetto in a row – highlighted Inter, Milan and Fiorentina as teams to watch out for.

“Inter have a great coach and Milan only lost once in the second half of last season,” he continued.

“Fiorentina are also becoming a great side with (Mario) Gomez coming in.

“The arrival of Rudi Garcia will help Roma. He did very well in France.”