Winning the Serie A title by 16 points in 2022/23 ended over 30 years of hurt, but in the wake of that triumph, Luciano Spalletti had requested a year's sabbatical from Napoli.
Not long after, he became the Italian national team manager after an unexpected resignation from Roberto Mancini.
Incredible fall from grace for Napoli in 2023/24
Issues during that summer with Victor Osimhen followed, and then three managers took charge of what ended up being an awful 2023/24 campaign - Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona.
The reigning champions finished in a distant 10th position, 41 points behind eventual champions Inter, and didn't qualify for Europe as a result.
Therefore, a strong hand was clearly going to be required, hence the move for Conte. And where he goes, Romelu Lukaku follows.
The Italian had originally tried to sign the Belgian powerhouse when manager of Chelsea, and the striker was at Everton. However, agent demands allegedly scuppered the deal, and Lukaku signed for Manchester United.
Conte was more successful in his endeavour to have the player as his main striker when Inter manager, and thanks to the Belgian's attacking presence and goals, Lukaku helped the Nerazzurri to the title.
Conte and Lukaku help Napoli's charge to another Scudetto
Some years followed, and the pair teamed up again at Napoli in the summer of 2024. Fast forward a season and the pair had another Serie A title in the bag, beating Inter - the team they'd finished 41 points behind a year previously - to the Scudetto by a single point.
Lukaku top scored for the Partnopei with 14 goals - all from inside the area - and 10 assists in his league games for the club.
Moreover, his shooting accuracy of 61.5% and conversion rate of 21.9% were elite-level showings, and 35 chances created - almost one per game - enhanced his attacking prowess.
Serious injury means Partnopei must sign a new striker
So, a nasty thigh injury to the Belgian sustained during the pre-season friendly against Olympiacos, which will keep him out of action for between three and four months, is clearly something that could curtail Napoli's excellence in front of goal during 2025/26.
With only a few days left of the summer transfer window, Conte and Napoli president, Aurelio de Laurentiis, must be on the same page in terms of a replacement.
Given Lukaku's physical attributes, it's no surprise that out-of-favour Manchester United strikers Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund have been linked with a move.
Both have played in Italy previously, the Dutchman with Parma (on loan) and Bologna, and the Dane with Atalanta, and that's of obvious benefit.
What isn't is their poor returns in front of goal since both have been at the Theatre of Dreams.
In 52 games in all competitions during 24/25, Hojlund managed just 10 goals and two assists, whilst Zirkzee's 49 games only produced seven goals and two assists.
A collective 17 goals and four assists in 101 appearances is well below the level required to keep Napoli at the sharp end of Serie A until Lukaku returns, not to mention any Champions League assignments in the meantime.
However, multiple reports now suggest that Hojlund is, in fact, close to a loan move with a €45m obligation to buy if certain conditions are met.
With only the finer details apparently to be smoothed over, it may not be long before the Dane gets to end his Old Trafford hell.
Dovbyk and Mateta still in the frame?
Hojlund is likely to jump at the chance to return to Italy. He's certainly not established himself at United, and with Benjamin Sesko having recently signed, the likelihood of him getting anything more than cursory minutes here and there is low.
Should a deal for either Man Utd. star not be forthcoming, Roma’s Artem Dovbyk and Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta are also believed to still be in the frame.
Having already lost Eberechi Eze to Arsenal, it's doubtful that Palace manager, Oliver Glasner, and owner, Steve Parish, would accede to losing the Frenchman.
That's because his 17 goals and four assists last season - the same amount as Hojlund and Zirkzee combined - saw him finish the campaign as top scorer ahead of Eze.
In terms of his physical presence and abilities in the penalty area, it's arguable that he would be the most like-for-like replacement for Lukaku, too. Right man, wrong time perhaps.
Is left-footer Dovbyk the man?
Dovbyk also has the attraction of plying his trade in Italy at present, and indeed, he was Lukaku's replacement at the Stadio Olimpico.
After 24 goals for Girona in LaLiga helped to earn him the move to Roma for the 24/25 campaign, he top-scored again with 12 goals in the Italian top-flight and 17 in all competitions.
The Ukrainian is a left footer like Lukaku, and his 74.9% pass accuracy in Serie A also trumps all those other players, bar Hojlund that remain of interest at this point.
Whether the Giallorossi would actually accede to selling their main man to one of their domestic rivals is another story entirely.
Lecce’s Nikola Krstovic could've been the perfect solution
Lecce’s Nikola Krstovic was also a potential hire for Napoli until he signed for Atalanta, and his numbers were, in the context of Lecce's 24/25 season, perhaps the most impressive.
His 11 league goals were almost a third of the 27 in total that the team scored, and arguably went a long way toward keeping Lecce up. A 17th-place finish and just three points above relegation shows how close they were to the Serie B trap door.
In a better team, there's a cogent argument that the Montenegrin could prove to be the most potent of the bunch, but Atalanta and not Napoli will enjoy the benefit of his services.
There's no time for Conte and de Laurentiis to play Russian roulette now, of course, so the hope will be that whoever they choose to fill the void that Lukaku's absence has created can hit the ground running from the first minute they pull the famous sky blue shirt on.