Lorenzo Insigne has not ruled out signing a new contract and taking a pay cut to stay at Napoli, according to Calciomercato, amid interest from Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham.
The Euro 2020 champion is in the final year of his current contract at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. But the Naples outfit are yet to table an official offer to renew due to their limited finances brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Reports have cited Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham as paying close attention to Insigne’s situation at Napoli. Paolo Paganini claimed Spurs made a formal bid in July, while Il Mattino and Fabio Santini cite Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp’s sides as Premier League options.
Napoli have not ruled out selling Insigne amid the interest from Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. Corriere dello Sport report the Azzurri want €30m (£25.5m), which could include €5m (£4.5m) in add-ons. But the priority remains to agree a new contract.
Insigne trained under Spalletti for the first time on Thursday after Napoli gave him extra time off following Euro 2020. There was no animosity among the Azzurri squad or coaching staff, who smiled at the Italian’s return.
Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis also arrived at the club’s training base in the afternoon ahead of speaking with Insigne. The forward would like to see his €5m-a-year (£81.5k-p/w) wage increased to at least €6m (£98k-p/w).
De Laurentiis, though, does not rule out asking Insigne to take a pay cut as Napoli must cut costs. It is not impossible that the forward agrees to a lesser deal to remain in Naples, but would only do so under certain conditions like obtaining control of his image rights.
Insigne set for further Napoli talks amid Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool interest
Calciomercato add Insigne and his agent, Vincenzo Pisacane, will speak with De Laurentiis next week to conjure a concrete proposal. Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham will pay close attention to those negotiations in case Napoli fail to convince Insigne to stay.
The forward would be a welcome asset at the Emirates, Anfield or Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season. He scored twice at Euro 2020 and lit up the competition with his dynamic runs from the left-hand channel.
Insigne also registered a career-best 19 goals in the Serie A last season, while assisting a further seven. While the 30-year-old’s longest goal drought lasted just three appearances.
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