The Brazilian remains the favorite for the defense: Folorunsho to Fiorentina to free up space. Zerbin and Marin away, Juve and Roma for Raspadori
The hunt is open for a defender. A need that Napoli has had since the beginning of the season, which became “urgent” after Alessandro Buongiorno’s injury. Sports director Giovanni Manna is expected to have very long days of work during the holidays. It’s time to make the leap in quality, there’s no point beating around the bush. Napoli must guarantee Antonio Conte new solutions for the Champions League objective. Officially, only one more defender would be needed. But the transfer options are endless and, above all, there are many Italian players with their suitcases packed and the hope of finding a new team to play more and show off. For the good of everyone, including the club and the coach: enhance yourself outside to come back stronger in the summer.
Viola on Folorunsho
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And so it is possible to hypothesize a lot of comings and goings from Castel Volturno in the coming weeks. Moreover, also to obviate the need for a new central defender, Napoli must first secure a transfer to free up the place in the Serie A list. And then watch out for the axis with Fiorentina, with whom contacts are increasingly frequent. The Viola club has identified Michael Folorunsho as the perfect profile to replace Edoardo Bove. Midfielder with muscles and personality, with a few goals in the pipeline and the right experience to be immediately available to Raffaele Palladino. This could be the first operation: loan for six months, then we’ll see.
The plot
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But the sale of Folorunsho would force Manna to also have to look for a midfielder, so as not to leave Conte with only four role players in the squad. This is why Juve becomes the best interlocutor for Napoli. In Turin there are two outgoing players that Conte and Manna really like: one is Danilo, the other is Fagioli. A double operation with Juve would mean being willing to sacrifice Giacomo Raspadori (Roma also likes him), who struggles to find space in Naples and who instead boasts many admirers at Continassa, starting with coach Motta, who considers him perfect as an alternative to Vlahovic at center of the attack. Coincidentally, Raspa’s favorite role.
All about Danilo
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But let’s get back to the priority: Napoli is waiting to understand the future of Danilo, who has a contract expiring in June and who Juve could release as early as January, to save on wages. And Danilo has everything Napoli needs today. Experience, ability to play both in the center of defense and as a full-back. And it can be used on both bands. In short, three players in one. The Napoli hypothesis is much more than an idea, but obviously it is not the only power plant Manna is working on. Felipe Luiz, released from Al Ittihad, was proposed. There are doubts about the physical fitness of a player (27 years old) who has been out of action since September and who played in the Saudi League last season. Napoli are waiting for an opportunity, as Manna said, but they cannot waste too much time. Danilo’s candidacy is the strongest at the moment and he would also avoid intervening for a full-back.
Want to go
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Yes, because among the outgoing players there is also Leonardo Spinazzola and, with the purchase of Danilo, Napoli would still be in place numerically. Should a pure central defender arrive instead, then another full-back would be needed to free Spina. Cristiano Biraghi could be a solution, but it is Spinazzola who is not convinced of Fiorentina: Gosens is there in his role, he would always be an alternative to a very regular player. Well, for the same reason Alessio Zerbin will leave: either to Lecce as compensation for Hasa (2004 one step away from Napoli), or to one between Empoli and Monza. Rafa Marin also asked to go and play: Como came forward for him, with Fabregas who knows him well and would be happy to include him in his Spanish “branch”. Rafa is an Under 22, he does not free up or occupy space in the list. So there is no rush, because the urgency is to add, not cut. And insert a player ready to fight for the Champions League. Or, perhaps, for something more prestigious.
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