5 Issues Napoli Need to Work on During International Break

After a shaky start to their Serie A campaign, Napoli head into the international break with the buffer of two straight league wins behind them, which should take a little of the immediate pressure off coach Rafael Benitez.

Likewise, the pain of getting dumped out of the Champions League by Athletic Bilbao in the final qualifying stage will be tempered slightly by a pair of first-up wins in the Europa League.

Benitez will still have plenty to ponder over the two-week break, however, as the current position of seventh in the league will not be satisfactory to Partenopei fans.

Here are five issues to work on over the next fortnight.

Gonzalo Higuain's Scoring Drought

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Much of Napoli's success last season can be put down to the contribution of Gonzalo Higuain, who scored 24 goals in all competitions to help the southern club to third place in the league and Coppa Italia glory.

However after a quiet World Cup, by his standards, for Argentina, "Pipita" has not yet found his scoring touch in Serie A, which can partially explain their disappointing position on the ladder.

The powerful striker has not played too poorly and has two goals in Europe, but he is yet to find the net in domestic football in six appearances.

If he can find his rhythm once again and start banging in the goals, the club will surely find ascending up the ladder a much easier task.

How to Replace Gonzalo Higuain If He Leaves

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Though he might be failing to score thus far in the league, there is no questioning the value Higuain has to the team.

He is a forward of such class who will surely start contributing on the scoresheet sooner or later, but even when he is not notching goals, he plays a valuable role as a central target man the likes of Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne can play off.

Rumours, then, that Higuain is unhappy at the club and eyeing off a summer transfer should be very worrying to everyone involved with Napoli.

According to Mark Doyle of Goal.com, the 26-year-old is in the sights of Premier League clubs Arsenal and Liverpool, though the player himself insists he is happy to stay put.

Just in case Higuain does decide to leave over summer, Benitez should already be looking at potential replacements, even if it's as a precautionary measure.

There are few No. 9s in world football who can play the target man with as much skill and guile as the Argentine, so the search will need to be an extensive one.

Whether to Give the Europa League Full Attention

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While Napoli would dearly have loved to have played in the Champions League group stages this season, they now must deal with the fact they are competing for the Europa League trophy instead.

Italian teams have notoriously paid little heed to the continent's second-tier competition in recent years, but after a win in each of their opening games, Napoli have justified their status as one of the favourites for the competition.

While that is positive news, it does also present a predicament. Napoli's priority should surely be to finish as high as possible up the Serie A ladder, with a Champions League spot the ultimate goal now that Juventus and Roma appear to be leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else in the title race.

But the further they progress in the Europa League, the more difficult it will become to resist the temptation to commit resources towards that tournament.

With a fairly limited squad size, Benitez will face a number of tough decisions on how best to manage his squad across both competitions in the months ahead.

How to Get Hamsik Scoring Again

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Marek Hamsik has been a driving force in much of Napoli's success for over seven seasons now, so when he fails to fire on all cylinders, the side understandably suffers.

His recent goal against Slovan Bratislava was his first of the season. As a goalscoring attacking midfielder, he can normally be relied on to chip in more.

He has also appeared to lack some of the energy and dynamism of previous campaigns. Whether that is the cause of his apparent interest in moving elsewhere or the effect, the manager must do everything in his powers to get the talented Slovakian back to his best.

Avoiding Getting Raided in the Next Transfer Window

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Napoli went on a spending spree before the 2013-14 campaign after selling Edinson Cavani to Paris Saint-Germain for a massive fee.

The following offseason was a far more modest one in terms of outlay, and now the club must be careful not to have its best players picked off by rich overseas clubs.

Both Gokhan Inler and Jose Callejon are the subject of transfer speculation, according to Marco Giordano of Goal.com, to go along with the rumours surrounding Higuain, while Hamsik is the latest to be linked with other clubs, per Jamie Anderson of the Express.

Losing quality players could be disastrous for a squad short on depth, unless they can somehow be replaced by individuals of similar quality.

Benitez and club directors must remain strong in the weeks ahead as other clubs come looking for bargains.