Napoli ditch interest in Tottenham, West Ham stars as Leicester man emerges as top midfield target
Boubakary Soumare is currently on loan at Sevilla
Napoli have reportedly moved on from idea of signing midfielders from Tottenham or West Ham and have targeted a Leicester City star instead.
The Serie A side have made strengthening their engine room a major priority in the January transfer window and have been scouring Europe to find a quality addition.
While they are known to have looked at various options, Spurs star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Hammers ace Pablo Fornals were thought to be at the front of the queue for a move to the reigning Serie A champions.
Hojbjerg came close to quitting north London in the summer after it emerged he was not suited to Ange Postecoglou’s high-octane style of play. And nothing since then has suggested that the Dane has been able to adapt.
Indeed, he has often been on the bench and only introduced if a game looked like it was well won.
To that end, Hojbjerg is still expected to be on the move in January, although that in itself will be a risk given Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr’s involvement in the African Cup of Nations.
However, Napoli are keen on a loan move with a purchase option, something that is of no interest to Spurs at this stage.
As for Fornals, the 27-year-old Spaniard will be out of contract in the summer, meaning January represents the last chance West Ham will have to recoup a fee for his services.
Fornals, however, has the sort of Premier League salary that is out of reach of Napoli and means they have to look elsewhere.
Napoli turn to Foxes star Soumare
And by doing that they have moved on to Leicester star Boubakary Soumare instead.
That’s according to Corriere dello Sport, who say Napoli are holding ‘continuous contacts’ over the Foxes midfielder.
Soumare is currently on loan at Sevilla but does not have ‘exaggerated costs’ and could, therefore, be available relatively cheaply.
The Leicester player has only featured in just over half the available minutes for Sevilla in LaLiga this season, and although he has been more involved of late the report adds that there is a ‘temptation’ to end his stint in Spain and head to Italy instead.
Corriere dello Sport adds that Soumare is flattered by the interest and that ‘personal problems’ that forced him to miss the recent clash with Athletic Club Bilbao could be a sign of his willingness to move clubs mid-season.
Napoli, however, have only started negotiations from a distance at this stage although it’s expected that things will ramp up over the coming days and weeks.
Reports in France though have a very different take on Soumare’s situation as they claim the player will be staying at Sevilla.
