Reported Arsenal target Joao Jorge is ‘very close’ to joining Serie A giants Napoli, former Partenopei star Salvatore Bagni said via NapoliPiu.
Could the ‘new Neymar’ be heading to Europe this summer? All the signs suggest that the answer to that particular poser is a rather emphatic ‘yes’.
Speaking to ESPN recently, Santos president Andres Rueda admitted that the Brazilian giants were struggling to tie down the Samba starlet, with Jorge’s contract due to expire on December 31.
Furthermore, UOL reports that Santos have agreed to let the 19-year-old go, with some of the biggest clubs in Europe queuing up to sign a teenage striker who continues to earn comparisons with another former Peixe wonder-kid.
But will the so-called ‘new Neymar’ be honing his considerable talents alongside Lorenzo Insigne and Victor Osimhen at the Stadio San Paolo next season?
“I can tell you that Napoli has fallen on Kaio Jorge,” said Bagni, the 41-time Italy international.
“He is very fast and very technical. For me, he is the strongest Brazilian there is. He is not very physical, but he is extraordinary.
“Napoli have come very close (to signing him).”
Bagni added that Jorge does not have a European passport; a potential stumbling block in Napoli’s pursuit of a forward who is expected to cost somewhere in the region of £18 million this summer (Il Romanista).
Calciomercato reported recently that Arsenal – a team with a strong, Brazilian backbone – are keen to add Jorge to an already Iberian-influenced dressing room at the Emirates.
But if Bagni is right, Napoli are in pole position for one of the most ‘extraordinary’ young attackers of his generation.
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