Kim Min-jae’s departure to Bayern Munich has opened up a spot in Napoli’s backline, as the Partenopei now only have three main defenders in Amir Rrahmani, Leo Ostigard, and Juan Jesus to count on.
Latest reports indicate that Napoli are interested in signing two Brazilian defenders, one of them being an up-and-coming talent from the ranks of Corinthians. Timãozinho academy graduate Murillo Santiago Costa dos Santos, better known as just Murillo, is the name hypothesized by Corriere dello Sport (via TuttoNapoli). Fiorentina have already attempted to sign Murillo.
⚠️#EXCL | Corinthians rejected Fiorentina's 12 million euro offer for Murillo and the Italian club is preparing a new offer for the Brazilian defender.
🇧🇷 🟣#ForzaViola ⚫#VaiCorinthians👉 3 Clubs from Spain and Italy are interested in the defender. https://t.co/KQZi0KBWt1 pic.twitter.com/d9ihq5Gg02
— Ekrem KONUR (@Ekremkonur) July 28, 2023
The search for Kim’s heir has led Napoli to be linked with Murillo, but they have Zenit St. Petersburg’s Wendel is in sight too. Wendel is a transfer target for Flamengo as well, but according to Coluna do Fla (via TuttoNapoli), the Brazilian outfit has decided to abandon negotiations in view of his price tag.
An offer of €17M lodged by Flamengo is the final straw in the club’s bidding process, while Napoli are pondering to spend €25M to acquire Wendel.
Our Take on Napoli’s Brazilian Targets
Napoli have an urgent task on their hands to fill in Kim’s shoes. While Murillo’s acquisition sounds like a shot in the dark, Wendel has already proved himself across Europe in spells at Sporting CP and Zenit since joining from boyhood club Fluminense. The latter is expected to prove a safer bet than the former.
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