Naples before Bournemouth’s Traoré on loan – Barak and Perez also in focus

Master in crisis

The Italian champions SSC Napoli, who have since slipped to 9th place in the Serie A table after only two wins from the last seven league games, are based on information from the transfer expert Fabrizio Romano According to this, immediately before attacking midfielder Hamed Junior Traorè was loaned out from AFC Bournemouth. Gianluca Di Marzio also reports that the Azzurri are targeting two other professionals.

The post-champion season has proven to be difficult for Napoli so far. Spalletti’s successor Rudi Garcia had to resign in November after 16 games and a points average of 1.75 points; successor Walter Mazzarri only managed four wins from the first eleven games. On Saturday, the club won 2-1 against bottom side Salernitana with a goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Even though they survived the group phase of the Champions League and met FC Barcelona in the round of 16, qualifying for international business via the league is in danger. In the cup, the champions failed prematurely in the round of 16 against newly promoted Frosinone. Since September 2023, the club has lost around 90 million euros in squad value as a result of the weak season (for statistics).

It is not surprising that the sporting leadership is trying to find reinforcements. According to Romano, “Cherries” professional Traorè is already on the way. The 23-year-old Ivory Coast international, whose contract in England runs until 2028, is coming on loan including a purchase option worth 25 million euros. It is said that the parties involved have reached agreement on the terms of the contract, only the medical check on the 1.77 meter tall right foot is still pending. This is also possible in the short term because Traoré was not named in the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in his home country.

The offensive player only moved to Bournemouth last summer after a previous loan from US Sassuolo, but only made three league appearances during the first half of the season due to illness. The 23-year-old already has the experience of 140 appearances for Neroverdi and FC Empoli in the Italian top flight, with 18 goals and 13 assists to his name. Naples is hoping that Traoré can help the Mazzarri team straight away without a long adjustment period.

Naples is looking for reinforcements: Barak and Pérez are also in focus

According to Di Marzio’s reports, the focus is also on Antonin Barak in the attacking midfield position. A loan from the 29-year-old Czech has been requested from his club Florence. The trail to Udinese’s Lazar Samardžić, who was also traded at Naples in recent weeks as the successor to Eljif Elmas (24), who was transferred to Leipzig, is likely to have initially gone cold in view of the new developments – but his teammate Nehuén Pérez (contract until 2027) seems to be the case. to be the focus of the defense. Samardžić is also being courted by Juventus, this is said to be independent of the rumors about a commitment from Jordan Henderson (33).

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