Milan made a serious attempt to sign Junior Firpo in January, but they had to postpone their pursuit also due to personal problems. In the summer, they are set to face competition from Napoli, which are also interested the Barcelona fullback, Calciomercato.com reports.
The Rossoneri are looking to add a left-back behind Theo Hernandez and have remained in touch with Firpo’s entourage. He is among the list of targets alongside Palmeiras’ Matias Vina and three other possible names. The Blaugrana have put a €15M price tag on the defender, the site adds.
Napoli have been looking for a new option in that role for some time as they have never been particularly enamored with Mario Rui. Moreover, Elseid Hysaj is slated to leave the club at the end of his contract and Faouzi Ghoulam recently tore his ACL again.
Former Blaugrana president Joan Gaspart discussed the player in an interview with Radio Kiss Kiss: “I like him a lot. He is a modern and offensive-minded fullback, but I do not know if his team is willing to sell him. Napoli are after him because they like his skill-set.”
Firpo has made 17 appearances in the current season, starting just 3 times between La Liga and Champions League matches, while he has played more in Copa del Rey. He has featured for a total of 819 minutes. He instead amassed 23 caps in his first campaign in Catalunya after joining Real Betis, getting the nod in 14 occasions and tallying one goal and 2 assists.