Lorenzo Insigne has put pen-to-paper on his contract with Toronto FC, and the official announcement will arrive soon. Napoli have placed Sassuolo and Ajax stars Domenico Berardi and Antony in the early shortlist to substitute him, La Repubblica reports.
The Partenopei plan to give bigger roles to their current players, in particular Hirving Lozano and Elijf Elmas. But they will also bring in a new offensive weapon to compensate for the departure of their captain. Berardi has seemed on the verge of leaving the Neroverdi on multiple occasions in recent years. He pushed to join Fiorentina last summer. His club stripped him of the captain’s armband afterward. The Viola tried to get him again before acquiring Jonathan Ikoné.
It remains to be seen whether Napoli will be the ones to finally convince Sassuolo to sell their cornerstone. His price tag has always been very sizeable, also considering the fact that he is 27. The Emilian side will have to comb through offers for their linchpins next summer. Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori will be in high demand as well. It is unlikely they will part ways with too many major pieces.
Napoli tracked Sassuolo winger Jeremie Boga at length, but Atalanta beat them to the punch. Antony has shined in the Netherlands in the last couple of seasons. He joined Ajax from Sao Paulo in a €16M move in 2019. He has notched 18 goals and 15 assists in 65 appearances since then. Multiple top European sides are eyeing him as well, though.