Napoli are reportedly closing on an agreement for Hellas Verona midfielder Ivan Ilic, who is coming off the 2022 World Cup with Serbia.
The 21-year-old spent time in the Manchester City youth system until he turned a Verona loan into a sale for €7.5m in the summer of 2021.
He has been linked with several clubs in recent months, above all Lazio and Milan, but now it is suggested he is on the verge of joining Napoli.
According to Calciomercato.com, director of sport Cristiano Giuntoli has been discussing the Ilic situation with Verona for weeks.
The asking price is in the region of €25m, but a deal could be done for €20m plus performance-related bonuses and add-ons.
The Partenopei hope to bring him in during the January transfer window, on loan with an option or obligation to buy at the end of the season.
Napoli may well require a new midfielder if Diego Demme is allowed to leave, frustrated by a lack of playing time.
Ilic knows his time at Verona is at an end, as they are bottom of the Serie A table with only five points in 15 rounds.
Why are italian clubs obsessed with all these balkan players
@Vincenzo Coppola
Because they tend to be two things: talented and cheaper.
He looks pretty good, so if Napoli can get him in for Demme, then it’ll improve them further. Napoli are usually pretty wise in the market, unlike many Serie A sides.
Ilic was a regular starter on Verona last year at 19-20 yrs old, which was their best season in a long time. Has been one of the few decent players for them this season. We’d be paying 50% more for him if he was from Western Europe or South America. That’s why they’re obsessed with the Balkan players.
Balkan players also tend to be more loyal to their clubs. In the same way as Italian players are also more likely to be willing to stay for the whole career in a club, even if most of it is on the bench (in some cases). There is a willingness to work and learn inside the Italian system of football, which is rare outside of Italian and Balkan players.
At least that is what I have correlated over some time, but I have not done research, so cannot prove causation.
For instance it is hard to export Sarris ideas outside of Italy, because they take at least 6-12 months for a player to learn and adapt to (if they can adapt). Here Balkan and Italian players are usually much better, because to work properly under Sarri, you need to be willing to sit on the bench for a whole year, and you need to really work in training for that year.