Napoli prepare to offload two of their midfield stars in order to revamp the team with new faces. Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis is expected to shower the team with new transfers, but before that, he will have to part ways with few of his own players and this includes two of his midfield generals – Fabian Ruiz and Piotr Zielinski – according to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport (via TuttoNapoli).
As per the Italian outlet, both players already have suitors waiting to sign them.
Ruiz has been the subject of transfer interest from a host of clubs, particularly from La Liga, with El Clasico duo Real Madrid and Barcelona taking interest in him. However, most recently Atletico Madrid are touted to have come forward with a proposal to lure to the 26-year-old to Wanda Metropolitano.
Napoli do not look likely to boil him down to a contract extension, and his deal with the club goes up in the air in the summer of 2023 – making him a likely candidate to leave, at least on discounted terms rather than a free agent. He has a market value of €55m, according to transfermarkt.
Zielinski on the other hand, has a similar price tag set upon him – around the €50m mark – but the 27-year-old’s contract with the Partenopei expires only in 2024. Moreover, he has the option to extend for a further year depending on certain clauses in his current deal.
Bundesliga teams, including German champions Bayern Munich, are to be hot on the Pole’s trail. As one of Spalletti’s favourite players, Zielinski could stay put in the southern Italy but the opportunity to experience a new playing arena could be a handful to reject.