Napoli Transfer Market: After Badiashile, the Club Is Working on a Striker; Allegri Is Pushing for Two Names
Napoli is ready to finalize the deal for Benoit Badiashile: The defender, born in 2001, completed the second part of his medical exams in Rome on Thursday and will sign his contract as soon as he physically arrives in Naples to join Massimiliano Allegri’s squad. The defender’s long-awaited arrival will now allow the club’s management to focus on another key priority this summer transfer window: strengthening the attack.
One of the two names at the top of the list is Gabriel Jesus. His exclusion from the Community Shield match against Manchester City has definitively clarified his situation at Arsenal: there’s no room for him anymore. With his contract set to expire in a year and the prospect of spending the season on the sidelines, the Brazilian has opened the door to the possibility of playing in Italy, as reported by *The Sun*: Napoli considers him a key target, but first must free up space on the roster and reduce the payroll.
At the same time, Napoli are keeping the lines of communication open with Chelsea—with whom they’ve already successfully negotiated to sign Badiashile—with the goal of bringing Nicolas Jackson to Campania. The Senegalese forward is among the players set to leave, and Napoli is ready to make a move—but again, only after parting ways with one of the players currently on the roster (Noa Lang is the leading candidate). To sign Jackson, Napoli must also outbid Aston Villa, which is looking for a replacement following the departure of Watkins, who is headed to Al-Hilal.
In the background, there is also a third name: Joshua Zirkzee: Manchester United does not consider him unsellable but does not want to sell him off cheaply either, as demonstrated in recent weeks during the lengthy and (so far) fruitless negotiations that Juventus has attempted to initiate for the Dutch former Bologna player. Napoli is also interested in him, but he is not a priority until the situation regarding the other two targets is clarified.
