According to reports from The Independent this morning, in-demand striker Gonzalo Higuain has turned down a contract extension at Napoli.
The 27 year-old boasts a prolific return of 217 goals in 459 appearances throughout his spells with River Plate, Real Madrid, Napoli and the Argentine national team – including 29 goals for Partenopei across all competitions last season.
Arsenal and Manchester United have both been strongly linked with the Albiceleste front-man this summer, in no small part due to the Naples outfit failing to qualify for the Champions League at the end of last season.
And their attempts to sign Higuain have received a significant boost over the last 24 hours, with The Independent reporting that he’s rejected a one-year contract extension.
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His brother and agent Nicholas has told reporters; “We had a meeting with the President [Aurelio De Laurentiis] in Venice 10 days ago. We talked about everything. He offered a one-year contract extension, however, in my opinion – and in our opinion – we’ll continue with the original contract, expiring in 2018.
“I don’t think we’ll accept the president’s offer, because the contract isn’t that different to the one we signed before, so for us it’s not a real offer.”
Although that doesn’t necessarily mean an abrupt departure, it does suggest developing friction between the player and the boardroom – following claims in July that Higuain has already informed De Laurentiis that he wants to leave the club.
Napoli, however, have consistently insisted any interested party will have to activate the striker’s £67million release clause.