Napoli could pick up ex-Roma defender Juan Jesus if Kostas Manolas goes to Olympiacos, because Juventus won’t release Daniele Rugani on loan, claim Sportitalia.
The Partenopei are giving some serious thought to a proposal from Olympiacos, as Manolas would like a return home to Greece after many years in Italy, while Sebastiano Luperto has joined Empoli on loan.
Rugani had been the first choice to replace him, but Juve won’t allow the centre-back to leave on loan this summer following the departure of Merih Demiral towards Sassuolo.
According to Sportitalia transfer expert Alfredo Pedullà, Napoli are instead turning to Juan Jesus, as the Brazilian is a free agent after his contract with Roma expired.
The 30-year-old has already worked with Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti and is an old hand in Serie A since 2012, first at Inter and then Roma.
Meanwhile, another defender who had been linked with Napoli was Piero Hincapié of Ecuador and Talleres.
However, this afternoon he officially completed his transfer to Bayer Leverkusen for €8m.
— Alfredo Pedullà (@AlfredoPedulla) August 16, 2021
OMG. I would love to see Roma in their current iteration barreling down on Napoli with Juan Jesus as a CB! How can anyone put them in the top 6 in Serie A with that predicament?
WOW…really? Luciano has truly lost his mind or Napoli is in THAT much trouble. Jesus is finished at this level, has been for some time. Even as a back-up.