Arkadiusz Milik is closing in on a £175,000-a-week contract at Juventus with both West Ham United and Tottenham blown out of the water in the chase for the Poland international striker, according to TuttoJuve.
Four years ago, Juve raided their closest Serie A challengers and gave Gonzalo Higuain a heroes welcome in Turin after triggering his £75 million release clause.
Now, another Napoli striker looks set to follow in Higuain’s footsteps.
But don’t expect to see many Milik-shaped effigies burning in the streets of Naples, or his number 99 shirt violated in a wide array of creative and increasingly-repulsive ways.
After all, the former Ajax striker has been more solid than spectacular in that baby blue shirt, scoring just 11 goals in 24 league games this season.
That does not mean his increasingly inevitable departure will not leave Gennaro Gattuso with a massive hole to fill, however. The Napoli coach admitted recently that Milik would be very difficult to replace (Sky).
But replace him they must.
The 26-year-old has just 12 months left on his contract at the Stadio San Paolo and, try as they might, the Coppa Italia champions have been unable to convince an old-school number nine to sign fresh terms.
Milik’s stance has caught the eye of Spurs, according to Goal, with Jose Mourinho of the opinion that a versatile frontman can ease the goalscoring burden on Harry Kane.
Tuttomercatoweb reported last week that another London giant, West Ham, are looking to snap up another big-name, big-money signing.
But an uphill battle now resembles something closer to climbing Mount Everest in your slippiest of slippers. TuttoJuve reports that Milik will sign a staggering £175,000-a-week contract at Juventus once his potential £23 million deal is completed.
Do not expect Tottenham or West Ham to match such an eye-watering offer.
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