Riccardo Bigon resigns as Napoli sporting director

We've been hearing about this for weeks, but today it's official: Riccardo Bigon has resigned from his post as sporting director for Napoli.

The club announced the news with a short statement on their website:

SSC Napoli announces that Riccardo Bigon has resigned from his role of Director of Football. President Aurelio De Laurentiis Bigon thanks him for the work he's done over the years.

-Source: SSC Napoli official website

Bigon had been with the club in his role since 2009, after spending five years in a similar role at Reggina. Now with Napoli changing manager again and trying to find any way possible to further progress as a club, he's decided that it's time to move on to further his career elsewhere.

It's been speculated in recent weeks that Bigon is preparing to take on the same sporting director role at Hellas Verona, a club that could certainly benefit from his eye for bargain talent. Wherever he winds up, we wish him the best of luck and thank him very, very much for all the excellent work he's done with Napoli over the last six years.

Who replaces Bigon at Napoli to work with presumptive new manager Maurizio Sarri is currently unknown. Most of the names linked over the past few weeks have seemed unlikely for various reasons, so it shouldn't be shocking if the rumor of former Napoli captain Gianluca Grava getting a promotion from his current post as the director of Napoli's academy comes true.

Grazie di tutto, Riccardo.