Piotr Zielinski has reportedly turned down a move to West Ham United, despite the club getting close to Napoli’s €40m asking price.
According to various sources including Sky Sport Italia, Sportitalia and Tuttomercatoweb, the Poland international has no intention of playing for a mid-table Premier League side.
The issue was not financial, as Napoli were prepared to sell for €40m including bonuses, while Zielinski was offered a three-year contract worth €3.5m per season plus bonuses.
The bid was believed to be €30m plus €10m in easy-to-achieve bonuses and another €5m if West Ham qualified for the Champions League.
However, the 28-year-old hit the brakes and warned he was not interested in this step for his career.
Zielinski has 72 senior caps for Poland, in which he scored nine goals, and is under contract with Napoli until June 2024 with an option to extend for another year.
He spent practically his entire career in Italy, joining the Udinese youth academy in 2011, then sold to Napoli for €16m in 2016 after a loan spell at Empoli.