Radu Dragusin was Napoli‘s primary defensive target but with the 21-year-old off to Tottenham, the Partenopei will work on other potential signings, including Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior and Chelsea’s Malang Sarr.
Napoli will sign a new centre-back in the January transfer window, hoping to climb up the Serie A table which currently sees them rank eighth, 20 points below table leaders Inter.
The defending champions had made an offer to sign Dragusin in January, but it was nowhere near Tottenham’s final bid worth €31m, including add-ons.
Therefore, the Partenopei must work on different targets and there are currently six centre-backs linked with a move to the Stadio Maradona this month.
According to La Repubblica, Napoli are monitoring Arsenal’s Kiwior, a former Spezia defender, and Chelsea’s Sarr who hasn’t yet played under Mauricio Pochettino this term. Former Juventus and Atalanta defender Merih Demiral, now at h Ahli, is also among Napoli’s options, but the Saudi club would need to pay part of his hefty salary.
Alessandro Buongiorno of Torino is also on Napoli’s radars, but the Granata won’t sell him in January so President Aurelio De Laurentiis is unlikely to make an attempt this month.
The latest report from Sky Sport Italia claims Napoli have approached Fiorentina and Udinese to sound out the availability of Lucas Martinez Quarta and Nehuén Pérez, respectively. Former Bologna defender Arthur Theate, currently at Rennes, is also been monitored by the troubled title holders.