According to reports from Calcio Mercato, Napoli are ready to launch an €18million bid for Juventus prodigy Daniele Rugani.
The 21 year-old defender has spent the last two seasons on loan at former club Empoli, featuring in every minute of their 2014/15 league campaign to help secure a 15th place finish in Serie A.
He returned to Turin Stadium during the summer but has so far seen just a minutes’ worth of action at senior level, coming on in the dying embers of Juve’s 2-0 Champions League win over Sevilla in September.
Arsenal and Manchester United are both long-term admirers of the Italy U21, with the Gunners reportedly seeing a £13million bid rejected during the summer transfer window.
The Premier League duo have been linked again in recent weeks but according to Calcio Mercato, Napoli are muscling their way to the front of the queue for the centre-half’s signature.
Keen to be reunited with Rugani, former Empoli boss Maurizio Sarri – who took the managerial reigns from Rafa Benitez at Napoli during the summer – is ready to launch an €18million bid. He sees the youngster as an ideal centre-back partner for Kalidou Koulibaly.