Things aren’t looking so good at Napoli at the moment.
The Italian club currently sits in seventh place in Serie A and should qualify for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League. On the surface, that’s not too bad, but according to the Daily Mail, things behind the scenes are much worse.
The report describes a club in crisis with the president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, at odds with the players and coaching staff. The upheaval, as detailed by 90min, is apparently over the team ignoring the president’s demand that they remain secluded at a training retreat following a subpar performance against RB Salzburg in the Champions League.
The situation turned especially ugly as several players had their property vandalized by Ultras. Some players have even had to hire bodyguards to protect them from harm (via Football Italia).
The Daily Mail report states that De Laurentiis must sell the club or, sell the players who have gone on strike. Since it’s much easier to sell a player than it is an entire club, several marquee players could be available in the upcoming January transfer window, including a long-time Paris Saint-Germain target, Allan (via Diario AS).
The Brazilian midfielder is valued at around €60 million according to Transfermarkt but given the situation at Napoli and his desire to leave, PSG may be able to sign the 28-year-old for around half that amount.
PSG’s midfield is pretty solid at the moment with Marquinhos, Idrissa Gueye, and Marco Verratti holding things down, but manager Thomas Tuchel would love to add a player like Allan to the squad.
Injuries have been a huge issue this season and with Ander Herrera’s inconsistent start to his PSG career and Leandro Paredes not up to the quality needed, Allan would provide some much-needed depth. More importantly, though, he would serve as the enforcer PSG desperately need when their star players like Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé are on the receiving end of rough challenges from opposing teams.
Sporting director Leonardo was very frugal last summer when he signed several players either on a free transfer or below market value. This January, Allan may prove to be a deal he can’t pass up.
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