Despite Getafe’s late efforts to drive up his price tag, Napoli will indeed sign Mathias Olivera. The Partenopei had been chasing after the fullback since January. He decided to stay to help his team avoid the relegation, which they managed, but had long struck a deal to move to Italy. He flew in for the medicals this morning, Sky reports.
The president of Los Azulones tried to slow down the transfer in recent days, citing the interest from Benfica and demanding for the Serie A side to activate his €20M release clause. The 24-year-old has scored one goal and provided three assists this season. He joined from Club Nacional in 2017 and also spent a campaign on loan to Albacete. He has two caps with Uruguay.
Napoli will not pay the entire clause to purchase Olivera, but they did bump up their offer. They will spend €15M between the fee and add-ons, which is a slight raise compared to previous reports, Alfredo Pedullà relays. The formula might technically be a one-year loan with obligation to buy. The two sides met in the middle. The Azzurri opted to keep their word to the player rather than set up different deals. Genoa’s Andrea Cambiaso and Udinese’s Destiny Udogie were possible fallbacks.
The newcomer will replace Faouzi Ghoulam, whose contract will expire soon, and alternate with Mario Rui in 2022-2023. Olivera will be the second reinforcement for Napoli ahead of next season after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has already been announced by president Aurelio De Laurentiis.