Napoli are looking to add two more defenders down the stretch. However, the limited resources at their disposal make it rather challenging. The fourth center-back will be a free agent. While Nikola Maksimovic openly campaigned for the job, they are on the cusp of signing Juan Jesus, Gianluca Di Marzio informs.
The Partenopei also eyed Shkodran Mustafi and offered a one-year deal to both. The Brazilian defender accepted it first and is already in town to take the medicals. He has played 102 games with Roma in the last 5 seasons. The Giallorossi did not renew his contract as he fell out of the rotation in recent campaigns. He is familiar with coach Luciano Spalletti as they spent time together in the Italian Capital.
Napoli recently shipped Sebastiano Luperto to Empoli on a temporary spell. They wanted to round out their center-back corps for cheap. They inquired with Juventus to get Daniele Rugani on loan but they did not find an opening. Instead, they would go after more expensive targets if Kostas Manolas or Kalidou Koulibaly left the club. Olympiakos are trying to bring back the Greek international but the costs of the deal are significant, Il Mattino reports.
The Partenopei desire to bring in a new left-back as well. They will likely miss out on their top target Emerson Palmieri, who is an advanced talks with Olympique Lyonnais, Sportitalia informs. They are pursuing Pervis Estupinan and are negotiating with Villarreal to find the right formula for the acquisition, Sky Sport relays.