If Victor Osimhen is stuck, then Napoli could sell other forwards instead, with Gianluca Gaetano torn between Cagliari and Parma, plus Atalanta turning to Giovanni Simeone.
The Partenopei cannot go in for Chelsea outcast Romelu Lukaku until they have first whittled down their current squad and Osimhen was meant to bring in fresh funds.
However, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal don’t seem inclined on paying even the €100m plus bonuses asking price for the Nigeria international.
In order to shake things up, Napoli transfer chief Giovanni Manna is instead trying to get some other players off the books.
Napoli push Gaetano and Simeone out
Gaetano is the most likely, as the 24-year-old just returned from a six-month loan spell at Cagliari and was expected to make that permanent.
Instead, Parma have stepped in with an offer believed to be worth €8m plus another €2m in add-ons, so they are working on the details.
Another player who could leave Napoli is Simeone, as Calciomercato.com and transfer pundit Nicolò Schira maintain he could be on the list for Atalanta now that Gianluca Scamacca is ruled out for six months with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
Lukaku isn’t the only man waiting for Antonio Conte to free up room, as Billy Gilmour is also a target and could leave Brighton and Hove Albion for just €13m.