Roberto Inglese has been loaned back to Parma by Napoli for €2million, with an obligation to buy for €18million in June 2020 and a further €2million in performance-related bonuses.
After impressing in Serie A last season in his initial loan, he’s now set for another temporary spell before joining Parma permanently from next summer onwards.
The 27-year old was Parma’s star striker last season, coming up with crucial goals to save them from relegation. Inglese has signed a five-year contract with I Ducali and will link up with the squad before the Serie A campaign gets underway next month.
A new challenge
Parma and Inglese both took the Serie A by surprise last season with their fearless approach to games, finishing in 14th place and more importantly three points above relegation. However, now with many eyes on their improvement, Inglese must start firing on all cylinders more consistently to consolidate I Ducali’s place in Italy’s top-flight.
There must be higher ambitions after surviving relegation and Parma can be eyeing a top-half finish to reestablish themselves as a prominent Serie A side. The Italian forward netted 21.95% of their total goals last season in an impressive effort, but will be aiming higher after watching Fabio Quagliarella’s heroics last campaign.
As the competition gets tougher in Serie A, Parma will be forced to display their A-game at all times to survive relegation and make a bigger impact. A top-half finish is obviously the dream, but Roberto D’Aversa’s men will look to entertain their fans with incisive football like last season.
Eyeing the Calcio golden boot?
Inglese ended up in the top 10 Italian goal-scorers in Serie A last season and obviously showcased his hunger for goals for an underdog like Parma. While the more experienced Gervinho might have outscored him, the 27-year old now has the confidence to dream for more in the goal-scoring charts.
The Italian netted nine goals last term, but will certainly want to achieving double digits this season. With his chemistry with Gervinho and co now more solid than ever, there’s a good chance he soars if he manages to amplify the consistency factor of his contribution.
Of course beating the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Quagliarella and Duvan Zapata in the Golden Boot race is an extremely difficult task, but last season’s astonishing work from the underdog proved to never say never. If he finds his rhythm and gets his team to play around his strengths, perhaps the 27-year old can make Napoli regret their decision to let him leave in the first place.