Udinese have reportedly agreed to sell Tottenham and West Ham target Gerard Deulofeu to Napoli, with the Serie A side set to sign the attacker for just €16m (£14m).
According to Il Mattino, the Udine club have accepted Napoli’s lowball offer for Deulofeu, who was expected to leave this summer for a much higher fee after a great season with Udinese, drawing interest from Premier League sides Tottenham and West Ham and other European clubs.
Deulofeu was one of the outstanding attackers in Serie A last season as the former Everton and Watford star bagged 13 goals in the Italian top-flight along with five assists, with Udinese open to selling their main forward threat after such a fantastic year as Napoli look set to sign the Catalan.
Napoli will head into the new season with some of their longest-serving players no longer on their books, with Kalidou Kouibaly recently joining Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne out the exit door in what has been a huge shakeup for Luciano Spalletti’s side.
And Deulofeu looks set to become a key attack for Napoli next season once the 28-year-old has signed for the club, a move that will come as a blow to both Tottenham and West Ham, who were both interested in bringing the versatile attacker back to the Premier League this summer.
Hailed as a ‘sublime’ performer by TuttoMercato last season, Deulofeu has some big shoes to fill in at Napoli, but after arguably his best campaign yet, the Tottenham and West Ham target could reach another level if he hits the ground running in southern Italy.
Tottenham and West Ham could regret not beating Napoli to Deulofeu signing
Deulofeu is best remembered by English football has for inconsistent spells at both Everton and Watford, yet since joining Udinese, the attacker has developed his game in an impressive manner to now being the lead man in a front line, and both Tottenham and West Ham could regret not signing the 28-year-old ahead of his move to Napoli.
After all, the forward was available for a cheap fee after Udinese lowered their demands for Deulofeu, and Napoli are now signing an exciting attacker who is likely to hit his prime in the next few seasons in what could be a coup of a move for the Italian giants.
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