Frank Anguissa is off to another solid start at Napoli, but his permanence was far from certain last summer. The stalwart seemed to have decided to leave as a life choice in the final months of last season. However, Antonio Conte intervened personally to make sure he would stay, Fabrizio Romano reports (via Tuttomercatoweb).

The Cameroonian midfielder drew a few serious inquiries, but the coach’s will prevailed. In particular, he could have transferred to Saudi Arabia, with multiple teams in the mix, or to Sunderland.

While that may appear as an odd destination, as the Black Cats just returned to the Premier League and don’t play in the European cups, they invested lavishly and went big-name hunting. In fact, they landed Granit Xhaka, whom Bayer Leverkusen didn’t want to sell and was pursued by multiple Serie A sides.

In the end, Conte convinced Anguissa to keep playing at Napoli and the management to make an effort to ensure that would be the case. The contract of the star could have run out last June, but the club picked up a two-year option to automatically extend it. The parties have been in talks for a proper renewal that would further delay the expiration date and bump up his salary. The 29-year-old has already bagged two goals and provided two assists, and is essential in keeping the balance.

Our Take on Napoli and Anguissa

They dodged a bullet, as it would have been very hard to find such a comparable contributor without splurging. They should still add a real deputy sooner rather than later to give him a breather from time to time, and also unburden Scott McTominay from some defensive tasks.