‘Out of the ordinary’: Reina says player Everton reportedly wanted is Barcelona quality

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Pepe Reina has shared a dressing room with some of the finest footballing talents of the 21st century.

But even a 38-year-old who has seen it all during trophy-laden spells with Liverpool, Bayern Munich and the Spanish national team probably didn’t expect the eternally-underrated Piotr Zielinski to be quite this good.

The 26-year-old Pole is frequently overlooked in favour of his Napoli midfield partner Fabian Ruiz and perhaps understandably so.

Zielinski is not a natural goalscorer, nor is he a Kevin de Bruyne-style creator. Unlike Ruiz, he doesn’t play international football for a continental giant a la Spain either.

But, while Reina’s gushing praise will raise plenty of eyebrows, anyone who has watched Zielinski take his game to a whole new level over the last 12 months will agree wholeheartedly with the veteran goalkeeper’s assessment.

This is a man who’s strengths are a little more subtle – a sublime first-touch, the ability to break the press with a pinpoint, piercing pass, a seemingly endless engine.

Make no mistake; in Zielinski, Napoli have a player with the potential to shine at one of Europe’s genuine A-list superclubs.

“I have a crush on Zielinski. He is a Real Madrid or Barcelona player. He is an out of the ordinary,” World Cup winner Reina explains when asked by AS.

Now, Zielinski is hardly a regular in the gossip columns but, as soon as reported emerged suggesting that Carlo Ancelotti wanted to reunite with his former Napoli playmaker at Everton (CalcioNews24), the Partenopei acted fast to tie him down.

Zielinski has since agreed a new contact until 2024 – complete with a £90 million release clause, according to Corriere dello Sport.

What Ancelotti wants, Ancelotti usually gets at Everton with majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri bending to the whims of his legendary coach.

But Zielinski is one player who seems to be beyond Ancelotti’s reach. As Reina himself suggests, Napoli’s unsung hero can aim far higher than the blue half of Merseyside.