Alex Meret’s representatives have made it clear the Everton target will push to leave during the summer transfer window if he’s denied a regular starting place at Napoli, as reported by AreaNapoli.
After completing a £32 million move to one of the country’s biggest clubs, a talented young goalkeeper is struggling to live up to that initial promise, his undoubted talent undermined by a series of high-profile mistakes.
And no, we’re not talking about Jordan Pickford.
There are certainly a few concerning similarities between Meret and Everton’s oft-maligned England international.
But, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, Meret’s struggles at the Stadio San Paolo haven’t stopped Carlo Ancelotti from trying to lure another of his former players to Goodison Park.
“He is a great talent. He truly is a special goalkeeper,” Ancelotti said in 2018 following the Italian’s big-money arrival from Udinese.
Meret was a regular starter under the former Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss. But the 24-year-old has spent much of his time on the bench since the arrival of Gennaro Gattuso 18 months ago, losing his starting place to veteran David Ospina.
In total, Meret has featured in 13 of Napoli’s 28 Serie A fixtures this season, with Gattuso sharing out the goalkeeping duties.
But, rather than keep Meret and Ospina both satisfied and smiling, AreaNapoli reports Napoli have been left in an awkward position.
Both want to feature week in, week out and will push for a move if Gattuso can’t guarantee them a starting place.
Napoli, then, have a difficult decision to make.
Do they put their faith in the promising yet erratic Meret? Or stick with the reliable but ageing Ospina?
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