Napoli director Riccardo Bigon spoke ahead of tonight’s Europa League tie with Porto and hinted Pepe Reina could stay.
Napoli director Riccardo Bigon spoke ahead of tonight’s Europa League tie with Porto and hinted Pepe Reina could stay.
The first leg of the Round of 16 kicks off at the Estadio do Dragao at 18.00 GMT.
“Today the Coach thought that Marek Hamsik could give a big contribution with his tactical work,” the director of sport told Mediaset.
“Porto like to keep possession, so Hamsik will take on Fernando in midfield and we must try to limit that quality.
“In the last five years he always scored into double figures despite being a midfielder, so he cannot be put in doubt.”
This evening Napoli face Porto striker Jackson Martinez, who had been in advanced negotiations for a transfer to the San Paolo last summer.
“We did talk about this over the summer, but with the arrival of Gonzalo Higuain I’d say it went more than well,” continued Bigon.
“Martinez still has a lot of quality and he is an interesting player, but Porto have many intriguing figures.”
Reina is on loan from Liverpool, but hinted this week he’d like to make the move to Napoli permanent.
“We are in a very clear situation. Pepe told us he appreciates this city, the team and the fans. It means when the time comes to make decisions, we’ll do so safe in the knowledge he likes being here.”
Napoli are third in Serie A, but Bigon was asked whether the club had “failed” in the League.
“It is our duty to analyse the negatives, but I’d also like to point out this is a completely new squad already competing at a high level. We are close to second place, in the Coppa Italia Final and in the running for the Europa League, so I’d call it a positive season.
“The road for the future is positive, we can still improve and we have what it takes to achieve that.”