Manchester City and Chelsea are the clubs linked most heavily with their signature.
Hours before Napoli’s 4-1 extra-time loss to Chelsea last night, Napoli’s president said it would take ‘crazy money’ to tempt them into selling their stars.
Now knocked out of Europe’s elite competition, and no guarantee of returning next season, he may no longer hold all the cards.
If Ezequiel Lavezzi, Marek Hamsik or Edinson Cavani express a desire to leave, the Italian club may not be able to ward off their rich admirers.
It is a difficult issue for Napoli, who if they agree to sell one, indicate a lack of ambition similar to Arsenal’s recent plight, and risk losing the other two as a domino affect takes over.
The club would have to re-invest the money straight away to confirm their ambition, but the biggest problem may be selling a lack of Champions League football to their current and future stars.
Napoli are locked into a battle for Italy’s fourth spot, level on 46 points with Udinese, five clear of sixth placed Roma and six points ahead of seventh placed Inter Milan, while Lazio sit in third on 48.
If the club do not secure at least third, then their chances of hanging onto their stars could suffer.
Udinese were Italy’s fourth placed side last season, but had to negotiate the qualifiers, where they were knocked out by Arsenal, so fourth spot would not be enough to guarantee their stars a place in the Champions League group stages.
Manchester City will be watching on with interest- particularly with regard to Cavani and Lavezzi.
If any club has the ‘crazy money’ required to tempt Napoli to part with their stars, then it is City.
Should the club fail to win the Premier League title, they will be set for another summer spending spree, and the duo could be their prime targets, while they could also tempt Napoli by offering either Edin Dzeko or Carlos Tevez in part exchange.
Chelsea also have the cash to spend, and Napoli’s stars can’t have failed to be impressed with the club during their ill-fated trip to Stamford Bridge last night.
Their top targets will be Cavani, as a possible replacement for either Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres, while Marek Hamsik could be just the man to inject energy into the centre of their midfield, and even be a long-term replacement for Frank Lampard.
Liverpool are also believed to be monitoring the players, as are Tottenham, while Carlo Ancelotti could attempt to lure the trio to French giants PSG.
Either way, Napoli face a big fight to hang onto the impressive trio, and must focus on finishing at least third in Serie A, to give themselves the best possible chance of keeping them.
Will Cavani, Lavezzi or Hamsik be playing in the Premier League next season?
image: © jikatu
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