Manchester United set to pay massive €130M for Milinkovic-Savic and Milenkovic, Barcelona in pole position to land Joao Cancelo and more, 11 July 2019
Hello and welcome to the Serie A news and rumours of the day! As usual, there are many exciting stories from the rumour mill to read. So, let's take a look at the top stories of the day surrounding the Italian top flight.
Aurelio de Laurentiis discusses Napoli's transfer activity
Napoli look set to challenge for the Serie A title once again after signing star defender Kostas Manolas. The Greek defender is expected to form one of the most formidable defences in the league alongside Kalidou Koulibaly. However, the Partenopei still have plenty of quality transfer targets such as James Rodriguez to sign.
On the other hand, Napoli boss Aurelio De Laurentiis insisted that the club's current priority is to sell several players. He suggested that Napoli already have enough quality players and their squad is a bit overcrowded at the moment.
“I often hear people say that Napoli need a top player, as if the ones we already have don’t fit the bill: your Kalidou Koulibaly, your Insigne, your Allan, for whom we turned down an offer of €70m, but also your Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens, Piotr Zielinski and Fabian Ruiz, who was a sensational purchase that few pay attention to.
“The most pressing need right now, I’d say the priority, is to sell. We have many players in the squad and it’s right to reduce the group, but we are also active and attentive on the market,” he said.
Laurentiis also spoke about James, who is one of Napoli's top transfer targets. James's future has been up in the air since Bayern Munich refused to trigger the player's buy-out option. Napoli want to offer an escape route to the 27-year-old, but Laurentiis suggested that Real Madrid demand too much for the player.
“He is the player who, after Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi, is the most media-friendly. Carlo Ancelotti likes him and we are waiting for a more reasonable request.
“The stumbling block is represented by Real Madrid, who have, in our view, exaggerated expectations. But James wants to join Napoli.”