De Laurentiis seems to rule out January signings with odd statement

With the January transfer window fast approaching, there's the usual bushel of rumors surrounding Napoli. Players in, players out, the works. While there are a couple of players almost certain to leave Napoli this winter, to hear team president Aurelio De Laurentiis tell it, they won't be doing much, if any, buying.

The [winter] mercato is only for those who have confused ideas, whereas ours are clear.

Buying new players to be integrated into this team and get ready and up to speed would maybe mean we rediscover the difficulties of the end of summer.

This gossip usually comes from the media or fans, who don’t live within our dressing room.

-Source: Football Italia

While his general points are certainly true -- January signings can just be a bandaid for problems, and can destabilize a team if they don't integrate well -- the aggressiveness that De Laurentiis made the declaration with flies in the face of history.

Napoli have been very active in recent January windows, using that opening in the transfer market to sign Faouzi Ghoulam, Jorginho, Manolo Gabbiadini, Ivan Strinic, and Edu Vargas in recent years, among others. Those signings all made vast improvements to the side, both in that current season and in seasons to come, proving that that January window can be effective if utilized properly.

De Laurentiis' words are especially confusing given that, by all appearances, Napoli need to be active in this winter's mercato. They need another attacker and another midfielder to help solidify the team's depth, and possibly another defender as well depending on who all winds up leaving the team. Camilo Zuniga and Jonathan De Guzman both look bound for the exit door, and if Henrique joins them then Napoli might need another center back to help make up numbers, though Maurizio Sarri might trust Sebastiano Luperto to fill that void.

Regardless, there's clear divide between De Laurentiis' words and both the history and needs of the club. Hopefully he's just posturing to cool the heat on some of the rumors swirling around.